Folkestone, Kent Weather
About Folkestone, Kent
Salt-crusted winds carve the chalk cliffs of Folkestone, where the edge of the English mainland meets the restless grey expanse of the Channel. It lies 4.3 miles east of Hythe (from Hythe: bearing 80°T, OS grid TR 228 361), and is situated south-west of Capel-le-Ferne village. Once a thriving port and a vital link for cross-channel trade, the local economy shifted from maritime industry toward a modern focus on creative arts and tourism. The harbour remains a functional heart, grounding the local life in the cold, rhythmic pull of the tides. Its history survives in the salt-weathered bricks and the persistent, industrious spirit of a place built to weather the storms of the Strait of Dover.
Creative energy now ripples through the streets, finding a home in venues like the Folkestone Quarterhouse and the nearby public art installations that punctuate the shoreline. The town’s cultural character is defined by a blend of Victorian elegance and a rugged, maritime resilience that draws artists and wanderers alike to its promenades. Visitors often find themselves reflecting on the past at the WW1 Memorial Arch, where the light hits the stone with a stark, mournful clarity. The author H.G. Wells once walked these same steep gradients, catching the same salt-laden air that still blows through the quiet corners of the Bayle Pond. Folkestone remains a place where the horizon is never distant, offering a sharp, bracing perspective to anyone who stands upon its weathered limestone heights.
Flight conditions near Folkestone. Data source: locating…
Live animated radar for Folkestone and surroundings — RainViewer.
EUMETSAT Meteosat imagery over the British Isles — updated every 15 minutes.
About This Folkestone, Kent Weather Page
This page provides live weather conditions and forecasts for Folkestone, Kent, England, including current conditions, a 24-hour hourly forecast, 7-day outlook, real-time aviation weather (METAR and TAF reports from the nearest reporting airport), precipitation radar and Meteosat satellite imagery. Public safety alerts are sourced from the Met Office National Severe Weather Warning Service (NSWWS), covering wind, rain, snow, ice, fog, thunderstorm and extreme heat warnings. Coastal tide gauge readings are sourced from the Environment Agency National Tide Gauge Network in near real-time (15-minute updates), with marine wave and sea surface temperature data from the Open-Meteo Marine API. Soil temperature, soil moisture and evapotranspiration data are provided for agricultural planning in this town. Live river level data is sourced from the Environment Agency Flood Monitoring API. All data updates automatically on every page visit.
Location data for Folkestone includes coordinates 51.08172, 1.180284, in the county of Kent, England. Times are shown in local UK time (GMT in winter, BST in summer). A street and satellite map of Folkestone is available on the Folkestone map page, and forecasts for neighbouring towns are listed on the Kent weather hub.
Weather data is sourced from the Met Office and the open-source Open-Meteo API, whose ensemble includes the Met Office UKMO model. Severe weather warnings come from the Met Office National Severe Weather Warning Service (NSWWS). River level and tidal data are sourced from the Environment Agency Flood Monitoring and National Tide Gauge Network APIs. Aviation data is sourced from aviationweather.gov, with a modelled estimate shown where no reporting station is in range. Radar is provided by RainViewer and satellite imagery by EUMETSAT. All data updates automatically on every page visit.