How extreme does Glasgow's weather get?

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest days Glasgow has recorded — the outer limits of what its weather can do, and how far they sit beyond a normal day.

Based on 50+ years of daily weather observations (1971–present), from the Newark Ag Farm station 7 km away. Updated through May 2026 — an all-time extreme only changes when a more extreme day actually occurs, so some dates are old. That is normal, not stale data.

The four kinds of extreme

The hottest, coldest, wettest and snowiest single days Glasgow has recorded — each shown against what a normal day that time of year looks like.

🔥 Hottest day

105°F Jul 16, 1983

That is about 16°F hotter than a normal July afternoon in Glasgow (typical high near 89°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 105°F Jul 16, 1983

2 103°F Aug 9, 2001

3 102°F Jul 31, 1999

❄️ Coldest night

-10°F Jan 22, 1984

About 35°F colder than a normal January night in Glasgow (typical low near 25°F).

The three most extreme on record

1 -10°F Jan 22, 1984

2 -8°F Feb 14, 1979

3 -8°F Jan 21, 1985

🌧️ Most rain in one day

8.67 in Sep 16, 1999

More rain in a single day than Glasgow usually gets in the whole month of September (typical September total about 4.9 in).

The three most extreme on record

1 8.67 in Sep 16, 1999

2 6.22 in Jul 12, 2004

3 5.71 in Sep 29, 2004

⛄ Most snow in one day

15.0 in Feb 19, 1979

The three most extreme on record

1 15.0 in Feb 19, 1979

2 14.0 in Mar 13, 1993

3 13.2 in Jan 7, 1996

How hot and cold it gets, month by month

The shaded band is the normal range of daily temperatures for each month. The dots show the most extreme it has ever been — so you can see how far beyond a normal day the records really sit.

normal range of daily temperatureshottest ever recordedcoldest ever recorded

Glasgow's record heat sits well above even a hot day for the season — July's 105°F is about 16°F beyond a normal hot afternoon. Its record cold is just as far below a normal winter night — the dots mark how rare each extreme really is.

In plain terms

In a normal year, Glasgow's warmest days reach the high 80s°F and its coldest nights drop to the mid-20s°F. But across the record it has gone as high as 105°F and as low as −10°F. A single day has delivered over 9 inches of rain or close to 15 inches of snow. Those are the outer edges worth knowing if you are moving here, planning a trip, or thinking about a house.

Methodology & sources

Temperature & precipitation — the official 1991–2020 climate normals from NOAA's U.S. Climate Normals, measured at Newark AG Farm (NOAA GHCN station USC00076410), about 7 km from the city centre.

How we build these numbers →

← Glasgow city detail