Weather for Glastonbury 2013
Following a year’s break in 2012, Glastonbury is back in full swing this year, with around 150,000 people converging on Worthy Farm to pitch up their tents and kick back for three days of great music.
Being such a large outdoor event, the weather plays a huge part in the festival each year, with everyone crossing their fingers that Mother Nature will be kind and hold back the rain.
Whilst June is a summer month, it can provide a huge range of weather, from hot sunshine, to torrential downpours and strong winds.
In fact, over the years since the festival’s inception in 1970, the weather has really shown how fickle it can be for the all important Glastonbury week.
Glastonbury weather in previous years
The hottest single day at Glastonbury was on 20 June 1984, when the temperature reached 27.5C as happy campers prepared to groove along to The Smiths, Black Uhuru and the aptly named Weather Report.
1985 was the windiest year at Glastonbury, which saw Echo and the Bunnymen, Joe Cocker and Boomtown Rats head out on to the stage in gusts of wind around 36mph – not great news for the many mullet haircuts that would have filled the crowd.
1997 was the infamous “year of the mud”, when a total of 78mm of rain fell during eight of the nine days preceding the festival. This meant that festival goers had to rock along in wellies filled with mud to Radiohead, The Prodigy and Ash.
It seems as if Stevie Wonder singing ‘You are the Sunshine of my Life’ was an omen in 2010, which was the sunniest Glastonbury with 64.3 hours of sunshine. No doubt, Gorillaz and Muse appreciated the fine weather too.
In 1999, you’d be forgiven for thinking that the weather was listening to the music as well. When Travis took to the stage and sang the first line of ‘Why does it always rain on me’, it started raining. It’s great to know that the weather has a sense of humour…
Glastonbury weather this year
I don’t think that the weather at this year’s festival will particularly stand out in comparison to previous years – which can only be a good thing.
Thursday will see early morning sunshine diminish, as cloud thickens through the day. There’ll be some rain during the afternoon and evening, but it should be mainly light. Temperatures will reach around 18C with a light to moderate north westerly breeze.
Friday will start cloudy, but skies will tend to brighten through the day with occasional brighter spells developing. It will feel quite muggy, with a temperature of around 18C and a light to moderate westerly breeze.
Whilst there is some uncertainty about the forecast for Saturday, at the moment, it looks like it will be mainly dry with sunny spells. The temperature should reach around 20C, with a light to moderate north westerly wind.
Sunday looks generally fine with sunny spells and a temperature of around 21C, although cloud may thicken late in the evening, with the odd spot of light rain towards midnight.
Don’t forget, you can get the latest forecast on the Channel 4 Weather website which is smart phone and tablet friendly. I’ll also be posting updates on Twitter – @liamdutton