Mountain weather

Mountain weather

North Grampian

Confidence

High confidence for the general evolution. Lower confidence for exact details over the weekend.

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.

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

Cloudy, mostly dry morning. Rain, strong winds afternoon and evening.

Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Weather symbols Fog Cloudy Light rain showers Heavy Rain Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
Chance of
precipitation
(at 800m)
Chance of precipitation
10%
10%
30%
90%
90%
70%

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 W 5mph knots
W
5mph
S 10mph knots
S
10mph
S 17mph knots
S
17mph
S 25mph knots
S
25mph
S 42mph knots
S
42mph
S 43mph knots
S
43mph
900m
900m W 5mph knots
W
5mph
NW 6mph knots
NW
6mph
SW 13mph knots
SW
13mph
S 23mph knots
S
23mph
S 44mph knots
S
44mph
S 47mph knots
S
47mph
600m
600m W 4mph knots
W
4mph
W 5mph knots
W
5mph
W 7mph knots
W
7mph
SW 14mph knots
SW
14mph
S 24mph knots
S
24mph
S 30mph knots
S
30mph
300m
300m NW 1mph knots
NW
1mph
SW 3mph knots
SW
3mph
SW 4mph knots
SW
4mph
SW 7mph knots
SW
7mph
S 10mph knots
S
10mph
S 14mph knots
S
14mph
Glen
Glen NE 2mph knots
NE
2mph
S 2mph knots
S
2mph
SW 4mph knots
SW
4mph
SW 5mph knots
SW
5mph
S 5mph knots
S
5mph
SW 4mph knots
SW
4mph

Wind gust

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1300m
1300m 6mph 12mph 22mph 33mph 54mph 56mph
900m
900m 5mph 8mph 17mph 29mph 54mph 57mph
600m
600m 4mph 6mph 10mph 19mph 35mph 42mph
300m
300m 2mph 5mph 9mph 16mph 25mph 32mph
Glen
Glen 3mph 6mph 12mph 17mph 23mph 26mph

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1300m
1300m 6 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 3 degrees Celsius -1 degrees Celsius -1 degrees Celsius
900m
900m 9 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius
600m
600m 11 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius
300m
300m 13 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius
Glen
Glen 13 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 18 degrees Celsius 17 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius
Freezing Level Freezing Level
2400m
2500m
2500m
2200m
3300m
2900m

Additional weather information

Meteorologist's view

Note the strengthening winds in the late afternoon and evening will give difficult walking conditions with a risk of being blown off balance. Navigation could be challenging with energy output significantly increased when walking into the wind.

Weather

The morning will be mostly dry but rather cloudy, with a small chance of the odd light shower. Rain spreads west through the second half of the afternoon, heavy at times west of the A9, along with strengthening winds with summit gales in the evening.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

20% or less at first, rising to 75% by midday, falling again to 25% or less in the evening.

Low cloud and visibility

Quite widespread cloud down to 500-700m in the morning and again in the evening with poor visibilities in hill fog, and later heavy rain. Cloud becomes well-broken through the afternoon with good visibilities.

Ground conditions

No recent ground conditions report available.

Summit specific forecast