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December 4, 2018 by Alexander Meldrum
Scotlands Citys & Towns
Lerwick (/ˈlɜːrwɪk/; Scottish Gaelic: Liùrabhaig, Norwegian: Leirvik) is the main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland.
Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population o...Scotlands Citys & Towns
Lerwick (/ˈlɜːrwɪk/; Scottish Gaelic: Liùrabhaig, Norwegian: Leirvik) is the main port of the Shetland Islands, Scotland.
Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7000 residents in 2010 and is the third-largest island settlement in Scotland. Centred 123 miles (200 km) off the north coast of the Scottish mainland and on the east coast of the Shetland Mainland. Lerwick lies 211 miles (340 km) north-by-northeast of Aberdeen; 222 miles (357 km) west of the similarly sheltered port of Bergen in Norway; and 228 miles (367 km) southeast of Tórshavn in the Faroe Islands.
It is the most northerly town in the United Kingdom and the most easterly in Scotland. One of the UK's coastal weather stations is situated there.
History
Lerwick is a name with roots in Old Norse and its local descendant, Norn, which was spoken in Shetland until the mid-19th century. The name "Lerwick" means bay of clay.
The corresponding Norwegian name is Leirvik, leir meaning clay and vik meaning "bay" or "inlet". Towns with similar names exist in southwestern Norway (Leirvik, Lervik) and on the Faroe Islands (Leirvík). Evidence of human settlement in the Lerwick area dates back 3,000 years, centred on the Broch of Clickimin, which was constructed in the first century BCE. The first settlement to be known as Lerwick was founded in the 17th century as a herring and white fish seaport to trade with the Dutch fishing fleet. This settlement was on the mainland (west) side of Bressay Sound, a natural harbour with south and north entrances between the Shetland mainland and the island of Bressay. Its collection of wooden huts was burned to the ground twice: once in the 17th century by the residents of Scalloway on the western side of the Mainland, then the capital of Shetland,
who disapproved of the immoral and drunken activities of the assembled fishermen and sailors; and again in 1702 by the French fleet. Fort Charlotte was built in the mid 17th century on Lerwick’s waterfront, and permanent stone-built buildings began to be erected around the fort and along the shoreline.
The principal concentration of buildings was in the "lanes" area: a steep hillside stretching from the shoreline to Hillhead at the top. Lerwick became capital of the Shetland Islands in 1708, taking over the function from Scalloway.
The civil parish of Lerwick had been in 1701 created from a small part of the parish of Tingwall, to which Scalloway still belongs. When Lerwick became more prosperous through sea trade and the fishing industry during the 19th century, the town expanded in 1891 to the west of Hillhead,
thereby including the former civil parishes of Gulberwick and Quarff, as well as the island's parish of Burra. Lerwick Town Hall was built during this period of expansion. Lerwick war memorial dates from 1923 and was designed by Sir Robert Lorimer. The next period of significant expansion was during the North Sea oil boom of the 1970s when large housing developments were built to the north of Staney Hill (located in Lerwick) and to the south (Nederdale and Sandveien).
Climate
Lerwick has an oceanic climate (Cfb) closely bordering on the subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) with cool to cold temperatures all year long. The lack of trees resembles the latter type. This is particularly pronounced by virtue of Lerwick being on a small isolated island, so even extreme temperature records are subdued; the record high stands at just 23.4 °C (74.1 °F) (July 1991) and the record low just −8.9 °C (16.0 °F) (January 1952 and January 1959). Lerwick is also a very cloudy town, averaging only 1,110 sunshine hours annually.
February is the coldest month, with high temperatures averaging around 5.5 °C (41.9 °F).
In August, the warmest month, average high temperatures are near 14.5 °C (58.1 °F). This produces an extremely narrow difference for an area north of the 60 parallel. In terms of average monthly precipitation, October to January are the year's wettest months, with over 5.5 inches of precipitation each month; May and June are the driest months, with average monthly precipitation less than 2.3 inches each.
Snowfall can occur, primarily from December to March, but snow accumulation is rarely heavy and usually short-lived.
The exposed North Atlantic location and proximity to autumn and winter storm tracks mean's high winds are a regular occurrence, alongside high levels of cloudiness and precipitation. The weather station is at an elevation of 82 metres (269 ft), so temperatures are likely to be slightly milder in the town centre at sea level. Owing to its northerly location, winter months are extremely dark in Lerwick. On the day of the winter solstice, it gets only 5 hours and 49 minutes of daylight. In sharp contrast, daylight lasts 18 hours and 55 minutes on the day of the summer solstice. As a result, nights never get completely dark for a period of time in summer, with dark blue elements remaining in the sky.
The maritime influence tempers the climate effects of these swings in daylight, but in many areas of the world, this latitude has hostile winters. Farther north in the world, only the Faroe Islands have such high January averages as Lerwick and fellow Shetland station at Baltasound – with the warm Atlantic currents preventing ice formation. Only when temperatures in continental areas are record cold does Lerwick experience some cold as was the case in December 2010 during the severe cold wave affecting the British Isles and Europe that covered much of England in the snow.
Even so, average highs remained above 3 °C (37 °F) and frosts were light. Even warm summers are also extremely rare with the warmest recorded month being July 2006 at an average high of 16 °C (61 °F)
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