How the checker works
Most parkruns start at 9am. In Scotland and Northern Ireland it is 9:30am. The checker pulls the hour-by-hour forecast for your area and looks at three windows: Friday night into Saturday morning, the hour around the start, and the three days of rain before it.
Each risk gets a rating. The overall verdict is the highest of the five.
| Risk | Some risk | High risk |
|---|---|---|
| Ice | Overnight low at or below 0°C, or at or below 1°C after rain | Below freezing after 1mm or more of rain, or any freezing rain |
| Snow | Any snowfall forecast overnight or at the start | 1cm or more falling, or snow lying at the start |
| Wind | Gusts of 35mph or more around the start | Gusts of 45mph or more |
| Flooding | 20mm or more of rain in the three days before | 40mm or more |
| Thunderstorms | Thunder forecast around the start | Thunder with hail |
These thresholds are my own judgement from watching cancellation lists every week, not an official parkrun rule. Every course is different. A tarmac path through woodland ices up far faster than an open playing field, and a riverside course floods long before a hilltop one.
What actually gets parkrun cancelled
Weather is only part of the story. On most Saturdays the biggest reason on the official list is venue unavailable, followed by permission issues and volunteer shortages. None of those show up in a forecast.
That is why a low weather risk does not guarantee your event is on. It only means the weather is unlikely to be the reason it is off.
From November to February the picture changes. Ice and flooding cause far more last-minute calls, often made on Saturday morning after a course check. Those are the ones that catch people out in the car park.
Common questions
- Does parkrun get cancelled for frost?
- Not for frost on its own. Frosty grass is usually fine. The problem is ice on paths, bridges and boardwalks, especially when rain falls on Friday and the temperature drops below freezing overnight. The event team checks the course early on Saturday and cancels if parts of it are unsafe.
- Does parkrun get cancelled for rain?
- Rain on its own almost never cancels parkrun. Several days of heavy rain can flood low-lying paths or waterlog grass courses, and that is when events get called off or switched to a backup course.
- Does parkrun get cancelled for snow?
- Settled snow often leads to cancellations, mainly because the paths underneath turn to compacted ice and because volunteers and runners cannot travel safely. A light dusting that melts quickly usually does not.
- Does parkrun get cancelled for strong wind?
- Strong gusts can bring down branches, and many parks close during named storms. When a landowner shuts the park, the parkrun cannot go ahead. Courses through woodland or along exposed seafronts are the most affected.
- When does parkrun decide to cancel?
- Planned cancellations are often posted days ahead. Weather calls are usually made after a course check on Saturday morning, sometimes only an hour or two before the start. The official list is at parkrun.org.uk/cancellations.
- How accurate is this checker?
- It is an estimate based on the forecast for your area, not a decision. Only the local event team can cancel a parkrun. Forecasts are most reliable from Thursday onwards, so check again on Friday evening.
Want to know more? Read what happens if parkrun is cancelled and how to run through rain and dark winter mornings.
Weather data by Open-Meteo.com (CC BY 4.0). Postcode lookups by postcodes.io, contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right. parkrun locations found using OpenStreetMap © OpenStreetMap contributors. SaturdayOff is not affiliated with parkrun Ltd.