Folkestone climate — normals and trends
Folkestone (United Kingdom) has a temperate oceanic climate (Cfb) under the Köppen-Geiger classification. Its mean annual temperature is 10.9 °C and it receives 839 mm of precipitation per year.
These figures are normals computed over 86 complete calendar years, from 1940 to 2025, using ERA5 reanalysis data from the Copernicus programme.
The warmest month is August (16.9 °C on average) and the coldest is February (5.6 °C). Rainfall peaks in November.
Folkestone averages 5 frost days, 0 hot days (≥ 30 °C) and 141 rainy days per year.
Folkestone has warmed by +1.7 °C between 1940 and 2025, or +0.20 °C per decade. This trend is statistically significant.
The number of frost days there went from about 10 to 0 per year over the period.
The hottest day of the period reached 27.8 °C (on 25 July 2019) and the coldest -7.5 °C (on 12 January 1987).
Data from ERA5 reanalysis (Copernicus Climate Change Service), redistributed under a CC-BY 4.0 licence. Normals are recomputed whenever the archive is updated.
Climate normals · ERA5
FolkestoneEngland
- coords
- 51.08°, 1.17°
- period
- 1940–2025 · 86 yrs
Mean daily temperature
10.9°C
Average daily high
12.1°C
Average daily low
9.7°C
Annual rainfall
839mm
Sunshine / day
8.6h
Mean relative humidity
82%
Average peak wind
32.1km/h
Seasonal range
11.3°C
Frost days (< 0 °C)
5 d/yr
Hot days (≥ 30 °C)
0 d/yr
Rainy days (≥ 1 mm)
141 d/yr
Annual snowfall
10.0 cm
Average feels-like high
9.0 °C
Average feels-like low
5.3 °C
Average peak gust
43.8 km/h
Tropical nights (≥ 20 °C)
0 d/yr
Solar radiation
11.8 MJ/m²
Has the climate changed?
One stripe per year, 1940 to 2025
+1.7 °C
since 1940
+0.2 °C per decade · r² = 0.43 · p = < 0.001
Trend fitted by linear regression (ordinary least squares) on annual means. A trend is shown only when it is statistically significant (p < 0.05).
A climograph overlays rainfall (bars) and temperature (line): the standard reading in climatology, where you can see at a glance whether the warm season is also the dry one.
Records for the period
Hottest day
27.8 °C
25 July 2019
Coldest day
-7.5 °C
12 January 1987
Wettest day
65 mm
5 September 1974
Windiest day
91.8 km/h
25 January 1990
Strongest gust
139.7 km/h
16 October 1987
Hottest feels-like
30.7 °C
25 July 2019
Coldest feels-like
-15.7 °C
19 January 1963
Snowiest day
12.9 cm
30 December 1962
Sunniest day
16.0 h
4 June 1940
Normals computed over complete calendar years 1940–2025.
A specific year
Pick a year and see how it compares to normal — warmer, drier or more extreme than usual?
Across the whole year
Month by month
| High | vs. normal | Precipitation | vs. normal | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 7.2 °C | 0.0 °C | 121 mm | +34 mm |
| Feb | 7.6 °C | +0.8 °C | 64 mm | -2 mm |
| Mar | 9.3 °C | +1.3 °C | 16 mm | -41 mm |
| Apr | 11.8 °C | +2.1 °C | 23 mm | -25 mm |
| May | 13.9 °C | +1.5 °C | 28 mm | -22 mm |
| Jun | 17.5 °C | +2.3 °C | 40 mm | -8 mm |
| Jul | 19.1 °C | +1.8 °C | 77 mm | +23 mm |
| Aug | 19.4 °C | +1.3 °C | 39 mm | -19 mm |
| Sep | 17.4 °C | +0.4 °C | 76 mm | +6 mm |
| Oct | 15.3 °C | +0.8 °C | 98 mm | +1 mm |
| Nov | 12.3 °C | +1.4 °C | 108 mm | -2 mm |
| Dec | 10.3 °C | +1.7 °C | 83 mm | -12 mm |
The year's extremes
What was the weather like that day?
Your birthday, a wedding, a memorable trip: discover the actual weather for any date since 1940.
Frequently asked questions
What is the climate of Folkestone?
Folkestone has a temperate oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb). Over 1940-2025, the average annual temperature is 10.9 °C and it receives 839 mm of precipitation per year.
What is the hottest day ever recorded in Folkestone?
The hottest day measured in Folkestone between 1940 and 2025 was 25 July 2019, reaching 27.8 °C.
What is the coldest day in Folkestone?
The coldest day measured in Folkestone between 1940 and 2025 was 12 January 1987, at -7.5 °C.
Does it snow in Folkestone?
Yes. Folkestone gets on average 10.0 cm of snow per year and has around 5 frost days.
Has the climate of Folkestone warmed?
Yes: Folkestone warmed by +1.7 °C between 1940 and 2025, a statistically significant trend.
What is the wettest day in Folkestone?
The wettest day measured in Folkestone between 1940 and 2025 was 5 September 1974, with 65 mm of rain in 24 hours.
What was the windiest day in Folkestone?
The windiest day measured in Folkestone between 1940 and 2025 was 25 January 1990, with winds reaching 91.8 km/h.
What is the warmest month in Folkestone?
The warmest month in Folkestone is August (16.9 °C on average); the coldest is February (5.6 °C).
How much does it rain in Folkestone?
Folkestone receives on average 839 mm of precipitation per year, spread over about 141 rainy days.
Is it sunny in Folkestone?
Folkestone gets on average 8.6 hours of sunshine per day, roughly 3,139 hours per year over 1940-2025.
What is the biggest single-day snowfall in Folkestone?
The heaviest 24-hour snowfall measured in Folkestone between 1940 and 2025 was 30 December 1962, with 12.9 cm.
Are there tropical nights in Folkestone?
Almost never: tropical nights (temperature staying above 20 °C) are virtually non-existent in Folkestone.
What was the most extreme apparent temperature in Folkestone?
In Folkestone, between 1940 and 2025, the highest apparent temperature reached 30.7 °C on 25 July 2019, and the lowest was -15.7 °C on 19 January 1963.
Compare Folkestone with another city
Pick a second city: its normals will be set against these, indicator by indicator.
Nearby cities
The climate around Folkestone