Ballot box with person casting vote

Weather Photographer of the Year

The vote is now closed

26 September 2020

The vote for the public’s favourite image in the Royal Meteorological Society (RMetS) Weather Photographer of the Year competition, has now closed. We had an overwhelming response with over 11,000 votes cast for the 26 finalists.

The competition, in association with AccuWeather, has attracted entries from around the world for the fifth year running, with 15 countries represented in the final shortlist. You can still view the images and read the stories behind them, in the photographers’ own words, by clicking on the images on our dedicated competition microsite.

The search for the 2020 Weather and Young Weather Photographer of the Year began earlier this year with a call for the best photographs depicting weather from around the world. Entries ranged from weather phenomena such as clouds, lightning, rain, fog or snow through to the impact of weather on humans, cities and the natural landscape.

More than 7,700 photographs were submitted by over 2,600 photographers, creating a challenging task for the judging panel to shortlist the best images for prizes and to become part of the Weather Photographer of the Year calendar.

The winners of ‘Weather Photographer of the Year 2020’, ‘Young Weather Photographer of the Year 2020’, ‘Public Favourite’ and the runners up from each category will be announced at RMetS WeatherLive: Past, Present and Future - Celebrating 170 years of the Royal Meteorological Society. This year the event will be hosted online, providing the perfect opportunity for weather enthusiasts from around the world to learn more about the changes that have occurred in weather and climate over the last two centuries, before looking to the future and what we can expect from a changing climate. This unique event will also highlight how improvements in our ability to observe and forecast the weather has developed our meteorological understanding over time. It takes place on Saturday 17 October 2020. For more details and to register, please visit rmets.org/weatherlive-2020

The calendar featuring all the winners and finalists of Weather and Young Weather Photographer of the Year 2020 will go on sale via the RMetS online shop at the end of October.