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Weather fan's guide to best days to peg washing out

Naj Modakand
Ellie Colton,Yorkshire
News imageStephen Vincent Stephen Vincent sits at a desk in front of a computer monitor displaying a UK map with colour-coded "shirt scores" rating outdoor laundry drying conditions.Stephen Vincent
Stephen Vincent says he wanted to offer straightforward forecasts that avoid technical jargon

A weather enthusiast has created a website to answer a question many people ask before stepping into the garden: is it a good day to put the washing out?

The Washing Line Index was built by amateur weather watcher Stephen Vincent, from Sheffield, and uses live forecast data to assess drying conditions for locations across the UK.

It gives a "shirt rating" and drying score out of 100, with separate morning and afternoon forecasts based on factors including sunshine, rain, humidity and wind.

Vincent said: "It's all working in the background from live weather data, then displaying what we'd like to know and computing it into a score."

The idea grew out of Steel City Skies, the Sheffield weather page Vincent ran before finishing the project last year.

He said the site aimed to offer straightforward forecasts that avoided technical jargon and "sensationalism".

News imageStephen Vincent Three-day laundry drying forecast for Sheffield displaying weather-based "washing line index" scores. Wednesday scores 82/100 and Friday 73/100, both labelled "Lookin' good!", while Thursday scores 69/100 and is labelled "Should be OK". Each forecast card includes temperature, rain chance, wind gusts and humidity, along with weather icons and a colour-coded rating scale from poor to excellent drying conditions. A location search box appears above the forecasts.Stephen Vincent
The site combines weather data with a formula that takes account of temperature, sunshine, humidity, wind and the likelihood of rain

He first devised the shirt system, giving each day a rating out of five shirts to show how suitable conditions are to peg washing out.

The informal score became a popular feature and prompted him to explore whether it could be turned into a standalone tool.

The resulting website allows users to enter their postcode to receive a score.

News imageStephen Vincent Map of the UK showing "shirt scores" for drying laundry outdoors, with coloured T-shirt icons marking locations across the country. A key rates conditions from 0 ("Don't bother") to 5 ("Excellent"). Most locations in England and Wales are rated between 1 and 4, with the highest scores in parts of northern and eastern England. A panel on the left shows the date, Tuesday 8 September, updated at 15:45 BST, and explains that the scores represent full-day drying conditions.Stephen Vincent
Map of the UK showing "shirt scores" for drying laundry outdoors

One of the challenges was deciding how much importance should be given to each weather factor.

Humidity could slow down drying even on warm days, while a high chance of rain may be less of a problem if showers are not expected until later.

To reflect that, the site splits ratings into morning and afternoon periods rather than producing a single score for the whole day.

Vincent said he regularly checked the forecasts himself while fine-tuning the system and comparing the results with real-world conditions.

Listen: Is it a good time to hang your washing out?

He said the highest ratings were usually achieved when several factors align, including sunshine, a steady breeze, low humidity and very little risk of rain.

"Sheffield would always get the keenest and most accurate information for myself as well, living here," he said.

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