Weather Forecast 7 January : Cloudier afternoon, evening rain for Orkney.

YELLOW WARNING SNOW AND ICE. Information from The Met Office. Today 7 January : Dry with bright spells throughout for Shetland. Cloudier with a few morning showers possible for Orkney, turning to more persistent rain, sleet or hill snow through the afternoon. Strong northwest winds at first, becoming light. Maximum temperature 2 °C. Tonight: Cloudy with…

theorkneynews

January 7, 2026

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ice, January, Met Office, Snow, Yellow Warning

YELLOW WARNING SNOW AND ICE.

Information from The Met Office.

Today 7 January :

Dry with bright spells throughout for Shetland. Cloudier with a few morning showers possible for Orkney, turning to more persistent rain, sleet or hill snow through the afternoon. Strong northwest winds at first, becoming light. Maximum temperature 2 °C.

Tonight:

Cloudy with persistent rain, sleet or hill snow for Orkney in the evening, becoming more showery overnight. Dry but cold and cloudy for Shetland. Minimum temperature -2 °C.

Thursday 8 January :

Showery rain over Orkney at first, spreading north to Shetland and falling as snow for a time. Drier, clearer spells developing for Orkney later. Maximum temperature 3 °C.

Outlook for Friday to Sunday:

Staying cold with some bright spells and a few showers from Friday through to Sunday, showers perhaps more persistent and wintry for a time early Friday and again later Saturday.

Updated: 04:00 (UTC) on Wed 7 Jan 2026

Shoreline of Kirkwall with the boulders covered in snow — Image credit Christie Grahame