Climate averages 1991–2020
Orkney weather
in October.
A hot, moderately wet month: the joint 4th warmest and the 7th driest of the year.
Long-term climate patterns, not a forecast for a particular trip.
October is a hot month in Orkney: daytime highs average 28.3°C and nights cool to about 13.2°C. By daytime temperature it is the joint 4th warmest of the 12 months.
Expect about 60 mm of rain on roughly 9 days, which makes October a moderately wet month (the 7th driest of the 12 months). Daylight, from sunrise to sunset, lasts about 12 h 43 min on an average October day.
The nearest other city in this atlas is Klerksdorp (14 km away). In October its highs average 28.2°C, about as warm as Orkney, with 59 mm of rain.
Among the 95 cities listed in South Africa, Orkney ranks joint 12th of 95 for the warmest October highs and 41st of 95 for the driest October (rainfall, lowest first). The mean October high of those 95 cities is 25.4°C; Orkney is 2.9°C warmer than that mean.
From October to November, average highs rise by 0.4°C to 28.7°C, and monthly rainfall rises from 60 mm to 73 mm.
The annual picture
October in context
Monthly rainfall
Average total · mmAverages from hourly ERA5 reanalysis data. Actual weather varies from year to year. How these numbers are calculated
Every month, side by side
Orkney climate table
| Month | Average highHigh / low | Average low | Rainfall mm/month | Rain days ≥1 mm/day | Daylight hours/dayDaylight h/day |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January | 29.0°C17.2°C | 17.2°C | 97 | 14.4 | 13.614 h |
| February | 28.3°C16.7°C | 16.7°C | 77 | 12.4 | 13.013 h |
| March | 26.9°C14.9°C | 14.9°C | 68 | 10.8 | 12.312 h |
| April | 24.0°C11.3°C | 11.3°C | 40 | 6.9 | 11.511 h |
| May | 21.5°C7.0°C | 7.0°C | 19 | 3.1 | 10.811 h |
| June | 18.6°C3.5°C | 3.5°C | 9.9 | 1.5 | 10.510 h |
| July | 18.8°C2.9°C | 2.9°C | 4.6 | 0.9 | 10.611 h |
| August | 22.1°C5.7°C | 5.7°C | 12 | 1.7 | 11.211 h |
| September | 26.6°C10.1°C | 10.1°C | 15 | 3.0 | 11.912 h |
| October, selected | 28.3°C13.2°C | 13.2°C | 60 | 9.4 | 12.713 h |
| November | 28.7°C14.8°C | 14.8°C | 73 | 11.2 | 13.413 h |
| December | 29.1°C16.6°C | 16.6°C | 98 | 14.8 | 13.814 h |
Rainfall is the average of the 30 separate monthly totals. A rain day is a local calendar day with at least 1 mm of precipitation. Daylight is the calculated sunrise-to-sunset length, not measured sunshine.
Compare places
October in nearby cities
- Klerksdorp in OctoberSouth Africa · 14 kmHigh 28.2°C · Low 13.4°C · 59 mm rain
- Stilfontein in OctoberSouth Africa · 18 kmHigh 28.0°C · Low 13.2°C · 59 mm rain
- Bothaville in OctoberSouth Africa · 46 kmHigh 28.3°C · Low 13.1°C · 51 mm rain
- Potchefstroom in OctoberSouth Africa · 52 kmHigh 28.0°C · Low 13.7°C · 65 mm rain
- Parys in OctoberSouth Africa · 78 kmHigh 27.3°C · Low 13.1°C · 72 mm rain
- Kroonstad in OctoberSouth Africa · 93 kmHigh 27.0°C · Low 12.5°C · 59 mm rain
- Kutloanong in OctoberSouth Africa · 95 kmHigh 27.7°C · Low 12.6°C · 53 mm rain
- Odendaalsrus in OctoberSouth Africa · 99 kmHigh 27.6°C · Low 12.6°C · 53 mm rain
Read the numbers correctly
Climate, not a promise.
These patterns help compare months. They cannot tell you the weather on a specific day of your trip.
Sources, method and limitsHow these numbers are made (what the highs, lows and rain days mean, the sources and the model cell used for Orkney) is explained once on the Orkney year overview and on the Sources, method and limits page.