The Glastonbury Festival begins on Wednesday, with tens of thousands of people expected to flock to rural Somerset.
“You should plan for both sunhats and raincoats for this year’s festival,” said Met Office Deputy Meteorologist Helen Caughey.
“There will be plenty of sunshine across the South West on Wednesday, though there may be some cloud later in the day, and temperatures will reach 26C or 27C.” The dry, sunny, and warm weather will last until Thursday.
“However, the weather will become more unsettled beginning Friday.” Heavy showers and thunderstorms are possible in the Glastonbury area on Friday and Saturday; however, while these should be fast moving, some surface water may accumulate at times. Temperatures will begin to fall as the week progresses, returning to near normal for the time of year, with highs expected to range between 18 and 20 degrees Celsius.
“Sunday is expected to be mostly dry and bright at first, but with showers developing throughout the morning, some of which may be heavy and thunderous.” The erratic pattern is expected to persist into the start of next week.”
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Weather statistics for Glastonbury
The first Glastonbury Festival took place in September 1970, and the records tell the story of some unforgettable festivals using Met Office data from nearby weather stations.
Glastonbury 2007 holds the record for the festival’s wettest day, which should come as no surprise to anyone who was there. At nearby Rodney Stoke, 60.1mm of rain fell in a single day.
Other than that, the highest wind gust speed recorded for Glastonbury was 41mph, which was reached at Yeovilton during the event in 1985 and 1987.
Although the Glastonbury website dubbed 1997 the “Year of the Mud” due to a deluge of rain in the days leading up to the event, it actually holds the record for the coldest festival day, with 13.2°C as high as the temperature reached at Castle Cary Grove Mead.
The temperature reached 31.2°C at Rodney Stoke in 2017, with The Foo Fighters headlining, while the warmest night was recorded in the same year, with 17.6°C at the same location.
Glastonbury’s sunniest day on record occurred in 1989, when a station in Yeovilton recorded approximately 15 hours and 36 minutes of sunshine.
Check out the Met Office’s WeatherReady for tips on staying cool in hot weather and dealing with heavy rain.
