Mountain weather

Mountain weather

North Grampian

Confidence

High confidence for unsettled and often windy weather through the period. Moderate confidence for timing of rain Tuesday evening into Wednesday morning.

Sunrise: Sunset:
Sunrise: Sunset:
Mountain hazards

Mountain weather hazards

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

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.

Storm Force Winds
Storm force winds (gusts over 70mph) make walking very strenuous with any mobility virtually impossible over exposed ground. Where these conditions occur there is a high risk of being blown over and even standing may be impossible at times with a risk of being blown off one’s feet. Basic tasks such as using a map, eating, putting on extra clothing or communication become extremely difficult away from any shelter.
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.
Heavy Persistent Rain
Heavy and persistent rain can lead to drenched clothing and footwear with waterproofs often becoming soaked through, especially if accompanied by strong winds. This can lead to significant loss of body heat and an increased likelihood of hypothermia. Terrain may turn increasingly boggy underfoot while streams can flood and become impassable. There may also be a risk of flooding in valleys or glens. If there is snow cover, a heightened avalanche hazard is possible and avalanche reports should be consulted where available.

Mountain weather forecast

Occasionally heavy rain and very strong winds. Showers evening.

Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Weather symbols Heavy Rain Heavy Rain Heavy Rain Heavy Rain Cloudy Cloudy
Chance of
precipitation
(at 800m)
Chance of precipitation
50%
70%
90%
≥95%
30%
10%

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 S 50mph knots
S
50mph
S 46mph knots
S
46mph
S 44mph knots
S
44mph
S 30mph knots
S
30mph
W 31mph knots
W
31mph
W 32mph knots
W
32mph
900m
900m S 54mph knots
S
54mph
S 45mph knots
S
45mph
S 49mph knots
S
49mph
S 36mph knots
S
36mph
SW 25mph knots
SW
25mph
SW 28mph knots
SW
28mph
600m
600m S 26mph knots
S
26mph
S 22mph knots
S
22mph
S 33mph knots
S
33mph
S 24mph knots
S
24mph
SW 14mph knots
SW
14mph
SW 17mph knots
SW
17mph
300m
300m S 4mph knots
S
4mph
S 8mph knots
S
8mph
S 12mph knots
S
12mph
SW 10mph knots
SW
10mph
SW 7mph knots
SW
7mph
SW 9mph knots
SW
9mph
Glen
Glen S 3mph knots
S
3mph
S 4mph knots
S
4mph
S 5mph knots
S
5mph
SW 5mph knots
SW
5mph
SW 4mph knots
SW
4mph
SW 3mph knots
SW
3mph

Wind gust

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1300m
1300m 65mph 59mph 57mph 39mph 41mph 43mph
900m
900m 63mph 54mph 61mph 44mph 31mph 34mph
600m
600m 38mph 33mph 47mph 33mph 20mph 24mph
300m
300m 18mph 22mph 30mph 23mph 17mph 20mph
Glen
Glen 24mph 20mph 21mph 21mph 19mph 17mph

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1300m
1300m -4 degrees Celsius -3 degrees Celsius -4 degrees Celsius -3 degrees Celsius -6 degrees Celsius -7 degrees Celsius
900m
900m 1 degrees Celsius 1 degrees Celsius 0 degrees Celsius 3 degrees Celsius -1 degrees Celsius -2 degrees Celsius
600m
600m 6 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius 2 degrees Celsius
300m
300m 12 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius
Glen
Glen 11 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius
Freezing Level Freezing Level
2000m
2000m
2200m
2200m
1400m
1400m

Additional weather information

Meteorologist's view

Felling cold on the tops in persistent heavy rain and very strong winds. Gusts of 60mph or so will give very difficult walking conditions with progress highly impeded and a significant risk of being blown over. The rain will be heavy at times bringing drenching conditions for a time.

Weather

Increasingly cloudy with a few showers before dawn and very strong southerly winds with gales or severe gales, best chance of drier and clearer spells in the sheltered northeast. Occasionally heavy rain spreads northeast from around mid-morning, clearing around early evening as winds ease down. Then a few showers in the early evening, becoming dry later with increasing clear spells developing.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

50% early hours, falling 25% during morning. Rising to >80% in evening.

Low cloud and visibility

Quite extensive areas of cloud down to 500-700m in the early morning, but some clear breaks in the sheltered northeast towards Ben Rinnes and Ladder Hills. Cloud becomes more widespread as rain spreads east from mid-morning with visibilities falling moderate or poor. This breaking later through the afternoon with any patches of cloud in the evening often above summits and good or excellent visibilities outwith showers.

Ground conditions

No recent ground conditions report available.

Summit specific forecast