16 hours ago
Glastonbury weather: latest festival forecast
With just a few days to go until the gates to the world famous festival open, it is still unclear whether rain or sun will dominate across the build-up and end of the heatwave, which has gripped many parts of the country, has lead to a change of weather pattern with lower temperatures and more best advice is to consider packing your sun cream and this year the weather may not be quite as extreme as other years.
How hot could it be?
Westerly winds have now pushed the heat and humidity away, temperatures have dropped and it feels fresher. Maximum temperatures for the next few days will be around 22C and overnight temperatures will be typically down to 12C. Gates open on Wednesday and most people will be looking for the best pitches. Unfortunately, later on Wednesday is when we could see the wettest and muggy air from the Bay of Biscay could combine with a band of rain coming in from the Atlantic to bring heavy rain and thunderstorms into the evening. At the moment it is a risk. It is possible that the storms could be further east and the rain won't amount to good news is that after Wednesday night it should be and Friday could be quite windy with gusts of 35mph or more but there will be some sunshine at best weather looks like being reserved for the weekend. South-westerly winds will become lighter and with more sunshine it will be warmer. Temperatures could be a very pleasant an eye out for changes on the BBC Weather app.
2005 & 2007 - two years to remember
In 2005, a six day heatwave came to an end just as Glastonbury started. Festival-goers swapped flip-flops for wellies. Heavy rain left parts of Worthy Farm underwater and big tents in the dance and circus fields were struck by lightning. Early acts were cancelled as engineers worked to restore power supplies. Later that day, as the sun shone, everything was back on schedule as The White Stripes headlined the Pyramid stage.
In 2007, with the Arctic Monkeys, the Who and The Killers headlining, it was the wettest year in the festival's than a month's worth of rain, 60.1mm (2.4in), fell on the Friday and into the weekend. The site turned into a mud bath with tents floating on liquid earth. Some embraced the challenge, many went home early. And ten years earlier, 1997, was known as the 'Year of the Mud'. It was the height of Britpop with the Prodigy, Radiohead and Sting early British summer brought six out of eight days of rain in the run up to the festival. The gloop was knee-deep and mud pits formed next to the main stage.
Not just about the rain
Putting up your tent in 1987 was difficult for a different reason. This was the joint windiest with tent-destroying gusts of more than 40mph (64km/h). This was also the year with the chilliest night - just 4.2C at nearby Yeovilton. It may have been easier to find a pitch though as the attendance that year was only 60,000!In 2017, Glastonbury opened on the hottest June day for 41 years. The temperature went on to reach a scorching 31.7C. That year the festival was closed by Ed Sheeran, six years after he played to 'about 500 people'.
Some people believe that the weather can make or break your experience at Glastonbury. But for hardened festival goers, rain or shine, it has always been as much about the experience as the music.
