Glastonbury weather: mix of heavy downpours and blazing sunshine for 2014 festival

Glastonbury 2014 has opened its doors to 200,000 festivalgoers, who are descending on Worthy Farm, Somerset, ahead of a mixed few days of weather.

Dolly Parton, Metallica and Arcade Fire are among those performing, with rain set to create mud baths that have become synonymous with the 44-year-old festival.

The festival made its debut a day after Jimi Hendrix died in 1970, and cost just £1 to enter – with attendees even getting free milk.

The good news for 2014, is that forecasts do not show any sign of a repeat of 2005 – when flash floods and torrential downpour left some of the site submerged in water.

The Met Office has confirmed that the opening day should be relatively pleasant – ideal camping conditions, as the ground will be moderately soft.

Friday is expected to be the worst day, with persistent rain and a maximum temperature of 18C until the late evening. This is a theme that should continue throughout the weekend, with temperatures expected to fall even further.

Only eight Glastonbury festivals in total have been rain-free, the hottest ever recorded being in 1984. 2010 also left some festivalgoers with severe heatstroke and heat exhaustion.

The festival’s organisers recently unveiled plans to encourage the public to use reusable bottles instead of disposable ones, to reduce the amount of rubbish left after the event.

Photo source: neal whitehouse piper via Flickr

Further reading:

War on plastic bottles declared at Glastonbury festival

Glastonbury: animal rights activists seek festival ban for Metallica

Glastonbury festival site will remain free from fracking, Eavis family says

Festival-goers leaving tents behind is a ‘worsening problem’ – survey

2014 guide to the UK’s top sustainable and green festivals