Scotland’s Sunniest University

How St Andrews defies expectations and welcomes students with sun and warmth

Greetings, and welcome to the Science and Technology section of The Saint. If you are reading this, there is a good chance you are one of the almost 2000 incoming freshers embarking on this new and hopefully great experience that is studying here; in that case, great choice. For the rest of you who already call St Andrews home, well then, I’m glad to see you again.

No matter the case, I hope you are enjoying the un-Scottish nice weather that the town so kindly offers as a welcome gift at the beginning of term (hoping I have not jinxed it with this article). 

Indeed, many of you are likely positively surprised. Ask any Scotsman to describe his country’s weather, and, nine times out of ten, the answer will be the same: dreich (that is, the stereotypical dark and wet climate that most of us would expect). But not here. You, in fact, currently find yourself at the sunniest university in Scotland.

If you were to look at St Andrews on a map, you would notice that it lies on the same latitude as Moscow and Labrador, two places known for their freezing climate and heavy snowfalls. One would — understandably — expect to find something similar here. Instead, Fife rarely falls below zero and is blessed with one of the driest climates in the country. Especially at the beginning and end of the academic year, students can enjoy long sunny days with warm temperatures around twenty degrees, conveniently occurring when exam season is still far away or already over.

How is this even possible?

This unique micro-climate is due to a combination of geographical features held not only by Scotland, but regions as far away as the Caribbean.

As the summer season ends in September, wet oceanic wind currents from the Atlantic Ocean arrive on the western shores of Scotland. These currents push eastwards, giving rise to the characteristic heavy rains. However, before reaching St Andrews, they are stopped by the mountainous region known as the Scottish Highlands; as the humid ocean air is forced upwards against the Highlands, it cools down, causing the rains to unload. This effect is known as the ‘rain shadow’, for which the east of the country ends up being significantly drier.

Furthermore, since the oceanic currents are mostly blocked by Scotland’s west coast, St Andrews primarily experiences the dry winds blowing from continental Europe, and this also contributes to those unusual sunny days that occur during Freshers’ Week.

Not only is St Andrews blessed by the bright shining sun, but the first week of university also carries perfect t-shirt temperatures. Some brave hearts take full advantage of this and even enjoy a cleansing dip in the sea. 

But how can it be that, on the same latitude, Moscow and northern Canada experience close-to-zero temperatures, whilst in Fife students are beach-ing and swimming?

The answer to this question comes all the way from the other side of the world — the Gulf of Mexico to be precise. Water from western Africa is pushed towards the Caribbean, where it warms up via solar radiation and flows to Iceland and the North Sea. From there, it moves south, hitting Scotland’s eastern coast and Scandinavia. 

This warm water current, known as the ‘Gulf Stream’, is why northern Europe goes through a milder cold season than its location would suggest. Once again, St Andrews finds itself in the best spot to benefit from this phenomenon. As the stream makes its way south from Iceland to the Scandinavian peninsula, it moves along the Scottish coastline, down to Fife, before drifting east. This, combined with St Andrews Bay’s Y-shape — which funnels the warm current towards the town —  allows for longer-lasting summer temperatures.

Unfortunately, despite these peculiarities that bless the town, the inevitable dreich weather eventually arrives in St Andrews. When this happens, the same coastal location that protects us from rain and freeze now causes strong, cold winds to hit the bay at the arrival of winter.

Nonetheless, St Andrews can be considered a unique gem in Scotland. With a large amount of sunlight due to its northern position and the protection of the Highlands, along with milder temperatures thanks to the Americas, the town truly offers a pleasant surprise to anyone who comes here. The fact that all these elements combine during Fresher’s week creates the perfect opportunity for all incoming students to start their new experience at the University in the best of ways.

Image from Wikimedia Commons