Broadford Youth Hostel (Highland) weather

Headline:

Locally heavy mix of rain, sleet and snow. Ice risk.

Today:

It will be cloudy much of the day with sleet and snow spreading east, turning heavier at times and falling as rain at some lower levels, particularly around the west coast. Turning drier around the west coast through late afternoon. Maximum temperature 5 °C.

Tonight:

Cloudy with a quite persistent mix of rain, sleet, and hill snow for many, heavy at times. Often dry but cloudy and icy over Skye and Lochaber. Windy around coasts. Minimum temperature -2 °C.

Wednesday:

Persistent rain, sleet and hill snow clearing Caithness and Sutherland, and the east through the morning. Otherwise dry and cold with bright spells and a few wintry showers around coasts. Maximum temperature 2 °C.

Outlook for Thursday to Saturday:

Outbreaks of rain, sleet or hill snow on Thursday. Friday and Saturday mainly dry and cold, a few coastal showers, wintry at times.

A changeable period is expected, with Atlantic frontal systems occasionally affecting the UK, bringing spells of rain, probably preceded by snow in some areas, this more likely in northern and eastern parts. Some significant snowfall is possible in places, particularly on northern hills. These low pressure systems could also bring some strong winds. These will be interspersed with quieter, drier interludes under transient ridges of high pressure, with the potential for frost, and wintry showers along coasts exposed to northerly winds. After a cold start, temperatures will tend to trend closer to average, especially in the south, such that the frequency of wintry hazards may reduce slightly. However, there is a hint late in this period that it may briefly turn more widely drier and colder again.

The outlook through the latter part of January and into the start of February is very uncertain, with no strong signal for any particular weather pattern to dominate. However, a broadly westerly regime seems more likely than not. As such, conditions are most likely to be changeable. Spells of wet, windy and mild weather are likely at times, along with some colder, drier interludes with overnight frost and fog. There is a hint that this period may start off largely dry and cold though. Snow and ice remain possible, especially in central and northern parts of the UK, but the chance of these is generally lower than earlier in January.