Mountain weather
North Grampian Mountain weather forecast table
Confidence
High confidence for a transition to less cold weather from Saturday. High confidence in remaining unsettled, but low confidence for the details on Sunday and Monday.
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.
Blizzards
Blizzards and whiteouts present challenging and serious conditions due to a combination of falling or blowing snow, strong winds and cold temperatures. They can be highly disorientating, often resulting in near-zero visibility with limited or no visual references and no distinction between ground and sky. Cliff edges and cornices may not be apparent, even close up. These conditions require very good navigational skills.
Gales
Gale force winds (gusts over 50mph) make walking difficult and strenuous with a potential to be blown over by gusts. There is often a marked increase in winds through cols or on exposed ridges and summits. Distances can take longer to cover and compass bearings become harder to follow accurately.
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
Dry in the morning. Few afternoon showers. Still quite cold.
| Time | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weather (at 800m) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chance of precipitation (at 800m) |
30% | 10% | 20% | 20% | 00% | 00% |
Wind direction and speed (mph)
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300m |
W
23
|
W
23
|
W
20
|
W
17
|
SW
13
|
SW
9
|
| 900m |
SW
18
|
SW
18
|
SW
16
|
SW
14
|
SW
12
|
S
9
|
| 600m |
SW
8
|
SW
12
|
SW
12
|
SW
10
|
SW
7
|
SW
4
|
| 300m |
W
3
|
SW
4
|
SW
5
|
SW
4
|
SW
3
|
SW
3
|
| Glen |
W
3
|
W
3
|
SW
4
|
SW
3
|
SW
4
|
SW
3
|
Wind gust (mph)
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300m | 29 | 29 | 26 | 22 | 17 | 12 |
| 900m | 21 | 22 | 20 | 18 | 15 | 11 |
| 600m | 10 | 16 | 16 | 14 | 11 | 6 |
| 300m | 12 | 13 | 13 | 11 | 9 | 8 |
| Glen | 14 | 14 | 15 | 12 | 12 | 9 |
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300m |
-1°
|
-2°
|
-2°
|
-2°
|
-3°
|
-3°
|
| 900m |
2°
|
1°
|
1°
|
1°
|
1°
|
1°
|
| 600m |
3°
|
3°
|
3°
|
3°
|
2°
|
2°
|
| 300m |
2°
|
2°
|
3°
|
3°
|
2°
|
1°
|
| Glen |
3°
|
2°
|
4°
|
4°
|
3°
|
2°
|
| Freezing Level |
1,000m
|
1,000m
|
1,000m
|
1,000m
|
900m
|
900m
|
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300m |
-9°
|
-9°
|
-9°
|
-9°
|
-8°
|
-8°
|
| 900m |
-4°
|
-5°
|
-5°
|
-4°
|
-4°
|
-3°
|
| 600m |
-1°
|
-2°
|
-2°
|
-1°
|
-1°
|
0°
|
| 300m |
1°
|
1°
|
1°
|
2°
|
0°
|
-1°
|
| Glen |
0°
|
0°
|
2°
|
3°
|
0°
|
0°
|
Additional weather information
Met Office Aberdeen meteorologist's view
Although less cold than recent days, still a notable wind chill so suitable clothing is advised. Strong winds may bring a low risk of summit gales in the early morning and will make for fairly arduous walking on exposed terrain with buffeting of clothing. Balance may be affected at times. Conditions underfoot may be quite icy over moderate or lower elevations in the morning with rain falling onto frozen ground.
Weather
Dry in the morning. Then dry and bright for a time in the middle of the day. A few showers, wintry above 800-900m, may feed into ranges west of the A9 through the afternoon. Still feeling quite cold at height, but less so than previous days.
Chance of cloud-free hill tops
Little chance in the early morning, rising to 70% by afternoon, best chances in the northeast
Low cloud and visibility
Widespread cloud down to 500-700m at first and visibilities falling poor in rain or summit snow and hill fog. This generally clearing from mid- to late morning, but some patches of fog may remain in glens and over lower slopes below 500m. Often clear summits and good visibilities through the afternoon and evening, but the odd patch of cloud down to around summit height and visibilities temporarily dropping moderate or poor should any showers pass through.
Mountain weather information
Weather
Largely dry in the morning with clear spells. Some showers mainly for Cairngorms and ranges west of the A9 through the afternoon and evening, wintry above 700-800m, with a small chance of these turning to more persistent rain or summit snow. Again feeling quite cold.
Chance of cloud-free hill tops
70% at first, falling 50% from afternoon, best chances in the west.
Maximum wind speed expected
Southeast backing northeast 25-35mph.
Temperature
- At 800m Minus 2C to plus 0C.
- Glen 0C rising to plus 5C.
- Freezing level 800-1000m
Low cloud and visibility
Largely clear summits and good visibilities at first, but some patches of cloud around 700-900m mainly in the south towards Drumochter Hills. Cloud becomes more extensive at times through the afternoon and evening as showers feed in to the west with visibilities falling moderate or poor.
Mountain weather information
Mon 24 Nov
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Cold. Bright spells and scattered snow showers feeding in from the north. Freezing level 800m falling to 500m. Fresh to strong northerly winds
Tue 25 Nov
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Largely dry and bright but cold, a few snow showers possible at first. Freezing level 400-600m. Light northwest backing southwest winds.
Wed 26 Nov
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Cloud and rain, preceded by summit snow. Freezing level rises above summits. Strong southwest winds.
Updated at:
Summit specific forecast
Mountain summit forecast map
Loading map…
Key
Mountain summits
Other points of interest
Cluster of multiple stations
Includes the northern and western Cairngorms National Park, Monadhliath, Ben Alder, Creag Meagaidh, Loch Ericht and Loch Rannoch.
For snow and avalanche hazard forecasts please visit Scottish Avalanche Information Service