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Weather Overview for St Ives

St. Ives, on the north coast of Cornwall in England, has a mild temperate climate. Corwall is the warmest county in England. St. Ives enjoys mild summers, mild winters and a lot of wind.

Summers in St. Ives, from June till August, sees average highs around 18°C. Shocked? Cornwall is renowned for being the warmest part of the UK and 18°C is hardly sweltering. It can get up into the mid to high 20s, but as a rule, St. Ives is kept cool by strong winds that blow over this peninsula of England year round. Sailors and windsurfers can enjoy wind speeds forces between three and four at this time of year. Rain is moderate but unpredictable as is sunshine. However, the slightly unreliable nature of the British summer is not a reason to avoid St. Ives’ gorgeous beaches. If you stay for long enough, the sun is bound to come out. Even in the height of summer the sea averages at around 14°C which is really quite bracing, though your dad will probably call it refreshing as he forces his blue lips into a smile.

Autumn in St. Ives, from September till November, sees temperatures drop from 16°C to 11°C. Night times are much cooler and require heavy jackets. Autumn is when Cornwall’s surf season begins. In St. Ives surfers head towards Porthmeor Beach on St. Ives’ northern coast, don their wet suits and pretend they’re looking forward to the 12°C water. September and October are considered the best surfing months in Cornwall. The wind picks up benefiting sailors and windsurfers with wind speed forces around four or five.

Winter is very warm in comparison to the rest of England. From December to February the average high temperature in the day time stays around 8°C and it very rarely gets down to freezing. Frost is highly unlikely throughout Cornwall, save for on raised areas of land such as Bodmin Moor. The surfers keep on paddling out to the break line, gritting their teeth, but the winds become very strong and the sea is sometimes too wild, let alone cold, for them. Sailors and windsurfers are affected by the same conditions. The sun becomes temperamental at this time of year, hiding behind the clouds and crying most of the time. Rainfall is heaviest in January.

Spring, from March till May, sees temperatures creeping up from 9°C to 13°C. As summer approaches the winds abate and the surfing season comes to an end. They pick up their boards muttering about how they prefer the cold. It is still very chilly at this time of year but the sun starts to come out more, with May being the sunniest month in the year.

Cornwall owes its warmer winters to its southern location that dips into the Gulf Stream. St. Ives, on Cornwall’s north coast, is more exposed to oceanic winds and is generally cooler, windier, and the sea rougher than resorts on the south coast. The lack of winter frost allow for species of plant to grow in this region that are usually only associated with sub-tropical climates. St. Ives has won the ‘Britain in Bloom’ competition many times. This often leads the English to claim Cornwall as a sub-tropical resort, but the idea is just crackers. While the winters are warmer than other areas at similar latitudes, they are not even as mild as Mediterranean winters, and the summers just don’t get very hot. However, whatever the weather, visitors to the area are sure to be smitten; the Cornish coast is an area of extreme natural beauty.