Scottish city finally sees sunshine after 21 days of gloom

Kate Finlay was delighted to see some late afternoon sunshine in Aberdeen on Thursday

The sun has finally broken through the clouds for the first time in 21 days in Aberdeen.

Sunshine was last recorded in the city three weeks ago - on 21 January. This is the longest sunless period in the area since Met Office records began in 1957.

Residents of the Granite City finally glimpsed the sun late on Thursday afternoon.

And the Met Office confirmed that 30 minutes of sunshine was officially recorded in the Dyce area in the hour up to 16:00.

Meanwhile, however, there is a yellow warning for snow and ice across Scotland overnight.

The glow of the sun was felt in Aberdeen

Kate Finlay, 21, said she was delighted to finally see the sunshine in Aberdeen.

"It's honestly very strange, the first thing I did when I came out of the flat there was message my friends, like 'guys the sun's out'.

"It's really weird, I opened the curtains, and thought 'oh it feels brighter than it did', and then went outside and it was a blue sky. I was really taken aback to be honest.

"It's actually been really hard, being trapped in the house as it's so wet, we don't want to walk anywhere or do an awful lot.

"It's been pretty miserable - so so happy that it's finally back," the University of Aberdeen student said.

The sun could be seen over the rooftops of Aberdeen just as darkness was beginning to fall

The sun was also seen in nearby Balmedie in Aberdeenshire

The sun was shining in Whitehills, Aberdeenshire, but evidence of the wet winter remains

The first 10 days of 2026 brought heavy snow to the north east of Scotland.

Since then it has barely stopped raining.

More than 277mm of rain fell on Aboyne in Aberdeenshire during January alone - about four times the monthly average.

It affected football matches, North Sea oil workers, farmers and even pothole repairs.

Experts blamed what was described as a "blocked weather pattern".

It prevented any significant shift in the position of the jet stream, and limited the chance of more settled, drier conditions.

Heavy rain brought minor flooding to parts of Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire

Scientists say climate changes means periods of more intense rainfall can be expected.

Figures from the Met Office suggest that 1.5C of warming could bring up to 16% more winter rainfall to Aberdeen and 13% more in Aberdeenshire, compared with levels in the 1980s and 90s.

Lead weather presenter Helen Willetts said: "It's been so wet and grey for many parts of the UK.

"However, finally on Thursday, Aberdeen recorded 30 minutes of sunshine officially bringing its sunless spell to an end.

"Surrounding areas in north-east Scotland might well have seen a smidge of blue sky on Thursday too, but Friday is the day when the cycle will be properly broken and the sunshine will return more widely."

BBC Scotland weather presenter Judith Ralston said: "With a change in weather type, we finally lose the stuck pattern of cloud, rain, and bitingly cold winds.

"This finally breaks, allowing a northerly air mass to set in, bringing much drier, brighter conditions, sunshine on the way on Friday and Saturday and a few wintry showers on Friday."