Mountain weather

Lake District

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Lake District Mountain weather forecast table

Confidence

High for high pressure holding across the area. Lowering for inversion height and cloud detail.

Sunrise:
Sunset:

This evening forecast

Dry with clear spells. Severe wind chill in strong northeasterly summit winds with the 700m freezing level.

Sunrise:
Sunset:
Mountain hazards

Mountain weather hazards

Hazards apply at or above 300m, reflecting the more severe conditions which can occur at altitude.

hazard 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.

hazard 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.
Mountain hazards explained

Mountain weather forecast

Dry, bright start. Small chance of patchy rain from later afternoon. Fresh to strong summit winds.

Time 00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
 Clear night Clear night Clear night Sunny day Sunny intervals Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy
Chance of precipitation
(at 800m)
 00% 00% 00% 00% <05% 10% 20% 10%

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
21
 E
14
 E
16
 E
14
 NE
17
 NE
16
 E
18
 E
17
600m NE
13
 E
12
 E
14
 E
12
 NE
11
 NE
13
 E
16
 E
14
300m NE
7
 E
8
 NE
8
 NE
5
 NE
5
 NE
7
 NE
7
 E
6
Valley NE
10
 NE
9
 NE
12
 NE
9
 NE
8
 NE
11
 NE
11
 NE
9
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 27 18 21 18 22 21 27 25
600m 17 16 20 15 15 17 24 22
300m 15 13 15 11 12 17 16 15
Valley 18 13 17 13 14 18 19 14

Altitude above mean sea level
Time 00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
900m
2°
3°
1°
2°
1°
1°
1°
0°
600m
0°
2°
1°
1°
1°
1°
1°
1°
300m
1°
2°
1°
1°
4°
3°
2°
3°
Valley
4°
4°
4°
4°
6°
6°
5°
5°
Freezing Level
700m
900m
700m
800m
900m
1,100m
1,200m
1,300m

Altitude above mean sea level
Time 00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
900m
-4°
-1°
-4°
-3°
-4°
-4°
-5°
-6°
600m
-5°
-2°
-5°
-4°
-3°
-4°
-4°
-4°
300m
-2°
-1°
-2°
-1°
2°
0°
-1°
0°
Valley
1°
0°
0°
1°
4°
3°
2°
2°

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

Dry with clear then sunny spells overnight and during the morning. Cloud erratically feeding from the east during the afternoon to bring the chance of some patchy rain from late afternoon, but highest peaks mostly cloud free being above the inversion.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

75% at first, becoming 25% from late afternoon.

Low cloud and visibility

Good or very good becoming moderate in rain, very low within cloud with bases becoming quite extensive between 600m and 900m from late afternoon, chiefly across the east of the park.

Ground conditions

Date: Friday 26 December 2025. Location: Grasmoor summit (852m) at 12:20. Full report: Clear & cold with light SE winds and plenty of sunshine. Congratulations to everyone who escaped to the Lake District fells on an absolutely spectacular Boxing Day. An overnight frost to valley level only slowly thawed in the sunshine as most terrain remained solidly frozen. There were a few small patches of water ice but generally the rock was bone dry and grippy in the very dry SE airstream caused by a large high to the north of Scotland. There was plenty of upheave and erosion on the paths caused by pipcrake crystals but perfect conditions for walking and microspikes were carried but unused. Shady northern aspects were frosted above 800m but again this was just cosmetic and overall a wee belter of a day. Conditions are forecast to remain settled but bitterly cold into the weekend. Lots of warm layers, hats and gloves will be essential to safely enjoy the conditions and worthwhile popping the microspikes in your bag if you have them. Sunset is still only at 3.54pm so remember the head torch. Temperature: plus 1.8C, Maximum wind speed 18.6 mph, Wind chill: minus 5.0 C, Average wind speed: 12.4 mph

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Mountain weather information

Weather

Staying dry with good brighter or sunny spells developing, but perhaps the odd outbreak of light rain or drizzle may develop in the east. Moderate easterly summit winds bringing a severe wind chill.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

70%

Maximum wind speed expected

East 15mph or less

Temperature

  • At 800m Zero to minus 2 Celsius
  • Valley Plus 1 Celsius increasing 7 Celsius for the afternoon
  • Freezing level 600-800m

Low cloud and visibility

Good or very good becoming moderate in any rain or drizzle, very low within cloud with bases occasionally lowering to 800m.

Mountain weather information

Mon 29 Dec

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Generally dry with the best of the brighter spells appearing during the morning. Light summit winds. Freezing level 500-700m.

Tue 30 Dec

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Dry with occasional brighter spells. Light summit winds. Freezing level 500-700m.

Wed 31 Dec

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Rather cloudy but mainly dry. Moderate summit winds turning to the northwest. Freezing level 500-700m.

Updated at:
Mountain weather explained

Summit specific forecast

Mountain summit forecast map

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The Lake District covers an area of 885 square miles with its highest point, Scafell Pike, standing at 978 metres.

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