Mountain weather

Mountain weather

North Grampian

Confidence

High for settled weather to develop over the weekend and early next week. Low for extent of rain on Tuesday.

Mountain hazards

Mountain weather hazards

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

Strong Sunlight
Harmful UV levels from sunlight increase with altitude giving a greater risk of sunburn and eye damage, even on some overcast days. On breezy days, the cooling effect of wind on exposed skin may disguise any feeling of sunburn until it is too late. If there is snow cover, glare increases the effect of UV rays especially on the eyes. It is advisable to wear sun block, protective clothing such as a long-sleeved top and hat and have good quality eye protection.

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

Rather cloudy with morning showers, mainly dry in the afternoon

Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Weather symbols Mist Heavy rain showers Cloudy Cloudy Sunny intervals Sunny intervals
Chance of
precipitation
(at 800m)
Chance of precipitation
30%
40%
20%
10%
<5%
40%

Wind direction and speed

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1300m
1300m N 20mph knots
N
20mph
N 20mph knots
N
20mph
N 18mph knots
N
18mph
NW 17mph knots
NW
17mph
NW 19mph knots
NW
19mph
NW 19mph knots
NW
19mph
900m
900m N 15mph knots
N
15mph
N 15mph knots
N
15mph
N 12mph knots
N
12mph
N 11mph knots
N
11mph
NW 13mph knots
NW
13mph
NW 14mph knots
NW
14mph
600m
600m N 8mph knots
N
8mph
N 9mph knots
N
9mph
N 8mph knots
N
8mph
N 9mph knots
N
9mph
NW 9mph knots
NW
9mph
NW 7mph knots
NW
7mph
300m
300m NW 3mph knots
NW
3mph
N 6mph knots
N
6mph
N 6mph knots
N
6mph
N 6mph knots
N
6mph
NW 6mph knots
NW
6mph
NW 5mph knots
NW
5mph
Glen
Glen NW 3mph knots
NW
3mph
N 3mph knots
N
3mph
N 4mph knots
N
4mph
NW 4mph knots
NW
4mph
NW 4mph knots
NW
4mph
NW 3mph knots
NW
3mph

Wind gust

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1300m
1300m 25mph 25mph 23mph 21mph 25mph 24mph
900m
900m 18mph 18mph 15mph 15mph 17mph 18mph
600m
600m 10mph 12mph 12mph 12mph 13mph 12mph
300m
300m 10mph 13mph 13mph 12mph 13mph 12mph
Glen
Glen 12mph 11mph 11mph 12mph 13mph 12mph

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1300m
1300m -4 degrees Celsius -5 degrees Celsius -4 degrees Celsius -2 degrees Celsius -3 degrees Celsius -5 degrees Celsius
900m
900m 0 degrees Celsius 0 degrees Celsius 1 degrees Celsius 3 degrees Celsius 3 degrees Celsius 0 degrees Celsius
600m
600m 4 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius
300m
300m 8 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius
Glen
Glen 8 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius
Freezing Level Freezing Level
1600m
1500m
1500m
1600m
1600m
1400m

Additional weather information

Meteorologist's view

Note cold temperatures at height, and combined with fresh winds will make for significant wind chill.

Weather

The Cairngorms and Monadhliath will see a fair amount of cloud through the day with a few showers in the morning, although these becoming light before dying out by early afternoon. Elsewhere the odd shower at first, otherwise dry with broken cloud.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

60%, best chance in the southwest of the area

Low cloud and visibility

Poor in extensive cloud down to 700 to 900 metres across the Cairngorms and Monadhliath in the morning, although cloud base rising to above 900 metres in the afternoon but still shrouding the very highest tops. Elsewhere areas of cloud down to 800 metres at first, but cloud above summits by afternoon.

Ground conditions

No recent ground conditions report available.

Summit specific forecast