Glastonbury weather: what are the chances of rain at Glastonbury?

The Glastonbury 2017 line-up has been announced in full and we can’t contain our excitement! We’re counting down the days until music royalty Ed Sheeran, Foo Fighters and Radiohead descend on Worthy Farm — and we’re already contemplating our outfit.

As with many British days out, our outfits are usually dependent on the ever-changing British weather — but is it possible to predict the weather at Glastonbury 2017? Fulton Umbrellas takes a look at the (often wet) history of the festival to establish the chances of rain at this year’s event.

Now in its 47th year, it’s difficult to believe that just eight Glastonbury Festivals have been dry! However, back in 1970 — the festival’s first year — it was a very different story. Revellers enjoyed dry, sunny weather — a far cry from what was awaiting them in years to come.

Any recount of Glastonbury’s weather has to mention 1997, or the ‘Year of Mud’ as it’s affectionately named. Before the festival had even began, rain had been falling for eight out of nine days. Fields were transformed into blogs and by the Sunday, stages were fully waterlogged and the Other Stage had even started to sink!

Surely, 1997 was rain at its worst—or was it? In 2016, Glastonbury founder Michael Eavis reported that the mud was the worst it had ever been. It was knee-deep in places, although it didn’t seem to put the thousands of festival-goers off. The region’s entire woodchip supply was used over the duration of the festival in an effort to make the mud more manageable.

Mud aside, the largest amount of rain fell in 2005, although the Thursday of the festival was fine and dry. However, by the Friday, the heaven’s had opened and nearly a month’s worth of rain fell in only a few hours. Fields became flooded, washing away tents and even completely submerging some.

But it doesn’t always rain at Glastonbury — the sun is known to make an appearance every now and again. In 2013, a rainy Thursday made way for mid-twenties temperatures that left many revellers suffering from heat exhaustion.

2010 was the hottest Glastonbury Festival in 40 years, with temperatures reaching 30°C. By Friday, over 1,000 people had been treated for heat-related conditions like sunstroke and dehydration.

So what does this mean for 2017? Well, the statistics show that historically, 83% of all Glastonbury festivals have been wet, so we definitely can’t rule out the chance of rain. However, the Met Office’s early predictions suggest that 2017 will be one of the warmest years on record, creating that ever-difficult scenario: how do you dress for warm, wet weather?

Want our advice? We’ll be packing our shorts and t-shirts, as well as our wellies, rain coats and of course, umbrellas. We’re hoping for sun but with rain almost certain, we’re taking no chances!

Prepare for Glastonbury 2017 and shop our fantastic range of clear umbrellas, available in our range of men’s and ladies umbrellas — they’ll keep you dry and you won’t miss any of the action!