Mountain weather
Lake District Mountain weather forecast table
Confidence
High for a ridge of high pressure holding across the area into Wednesday, but lowering for inversion height and cloud detail, then for timing of a change to a more mobile pattern into Thursday.
This evening forecast
Cloudy with some patchy light rain early evening, falling as snow across highest peaks. Dry by late evening with some clear spells developing, as the freezing level lowers to 700m. Fresh to strong easterly summit winds bringing severe wind chill.
Mountain weather hazards
Hazards apply at or above 300m, reflecting the more severe conditions which can occur at altitude.
Severe Chill Effect
Wind significantly lowers the ‘feels-like’ temperature relative to the actual temperature, with even moderate winds significantly adding to the chilling effect. Strong winds can result in a severe and debilitating wind chill many degrees below the actual temperature. This effect will be enhanced in rain or wet snow. Without protection, prolonged exposure could result in frost nip or frostbite on exposed parts of the body and/or hypothermia.
Poor Visibility
Poor visibility presents challenging route finding conditions. Visibility could be significantly less than 50 metres in all directions with few or no visual references, especially on featureless moors or plateaux. Distances become hard to judge and cliff or cornice edges can be difficult to recognise. These conditions require good navigational skills. There is a risk of white-out conditions when mist or fog is combined with extensive snow cover.
Mountain weather forecast
Most dry with occasional brighter spells. Light to moderate easterly winds.
| Time | 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weather (at 800m) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chance of precipitation (at 800m) |
00% | 00% | 00% | <05% | <05% | <05% | <05% | <05% |
Wind direction and speed (mph)
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900m |
E
22
|
E
20
|
E
17
|
E
13
|
E
10
|
NE
7
|
E
9
|
E
8
|
| 600m |
E
19
|
NE
11
|
E
15
|
E
16
|
E
9
|
NE
5
|
E
9
|
E
6
|
| 300m |
E
5
|
NE
3
|
NE
4
|
E
4
|
E
4
|
NE
2
|
NE
2
|
E
1
|
| Valley |
NE
4
|
NE
5
|
NE
5
|
NE
3
|
N
4
|
NE
5
|
NE
4
|
NE
4
|
Wind gust (mph)
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900m | 28 | 24 | 23 | 19 | 14 | 10 | 12 | 10 |
| 600m | 26 | 15 | 21 | 24 | 13 | 8 | 13 | 9 |
| 300m | 17 | 12 | 13 | 13 | 8 | 6 | 8 | 4 |
| Valley | 10 | 13 | 9 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 |
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900m |
0°
|
-2°
|
-1°
|
-1°
|
-1°
|
-2°
|
-1°
|
-2°
|
| 600m |
0°
|
0°
|
0°
|
0°
|
1°
|
0°
|
0°
|
0°
|
| 300m |
2°
|
2°
|
1°
|
1°
|
3°
|
2°
|
1°
|
0°
|
| Valley |
4°
|
4°
|
4°
|
3°
|
5°
|
5°
|
3°
|
3°
|
| Freezing Level |
700m
|
600m
|
600m
|
600m
|
600m
|
600m
|
600m
|
500m
|
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900m |
-7°
|
-9°
|
-6°
|
-6°
|
-6°
|
-5°
|
-6°
|
-6°
|
| 600m |
-6°
|
-5°
|
-5°
|
-5°
|
-3°
|
-2°
|
-4°
|
-3°
|
| 300m |
0°
|
0°
|
-1°
|
-1°
|
1°
|
1°
|
-1°
|
-2°
|
| Valley |
2°
|
2°
|
1°
|
2°
|
3°
|
3°
|
2°
|
1°
|
Additional weather information
Meteorologist's view
Freezing level figures above will be over simplistic at times as the inversion oscillates between 500m and 1000m.
Weather
Most staying dry with brighter spells building into the afternoon, but the odd light outbreak of rain or drizzle may develop.
Chance of cloud-free hill tops
70%
Low cloud and visibility
Good or very good becoming moderate in any rain or drizzle, very low within cloud occasional between 500 and 900m.
Ground conditions
Date: Saturday 27 December, Location: Helvellyn summit at 13:10, Full report: Spectacular high pressure conditions persist across the Lake District with a hard overnight frost giving way to a clear and cold day with plenty of sunshine. As forecast plenty of orographic cloud developed in the NE of the National Park producing several broken spectres but the rest of the fells stayed clear. The sun was stripping much of the frost from southerly aspects but much terrain stayed frozen down to valley level. Surface hoar is developing in sheltered locations after a couple of days of light winds. There were also large areas of water ice on some paths but these were easily avoided. The windchill was a biting -10C. Striding Edge was a real mixture of bone dry and grippy rock where it had been exposed to the sun and slippery water ice and surface hoar in the shade. Swirral Edge receives less sun and was in more serious icy condition. Microspikes would be a sensible addition to your equipment in the current conditions. Sunset is at 3.54pm so please remember a head torch as well as plenty of warm layers, hats and gloves to be able to enjoy the current special conditions. Temperature: minus 1.0C, Maximum wind speed 21.5mph, Wind chill: minus 9.6C, Average wind speed: 18.9mph
Mountain weather information
Weather
Generally dry by day with occasional brighter spells. Cloud thickening for the evening to bring the chance of some patchy rain. Light summit winds increasing fresh to strong during the evening.
Chance of cloud-free hill tops
80% becoming 60% by early evening
Maximum wind speed expected
Variable 15mph or less becoming Northeast 20-25mph for the evening
Temperature
- At 800m Minus 3 Celsius
- Valley Minus 2 Celsius increasing 6 Celsius for the afternoon
- Freezing level 500-600m
Low cloud and visibility
Good or very good becoming moderate in any later rain, very low within cloud with bases occasionally between 500m and 900m by day, before thickening and lowering for the evening.
Mountain weather information
Tue 30 Dec
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Dry with bright and sunny spells. Light summit winds. Freezing level 500-600m.
Wed 31 Dec
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Bright, dry start. Turning rather cloudy later with some showers and moderate summit winds developing. Freezing level 500-600m.
Thu 1 Jan
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Cloudy with occasional light to moderate rain, wintry across higher peaks. Moderate to fresh summit winds. Freezing level lifting to 1000m.
Updated at:
Summit specific forecast
Mountain summit forecast map
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Key
Mountain summits
Other points of interest
Cluster of multiple stations
The Lake District covers an area of 885 square miles with its highest point, Scafell Pike, standing at 978 metres.