Mountain weather
North Grampian Mountain weather forecast table
Confidence
High for an unsettled and often very windy few days. Low for exact wind strength on Tuesday. More broadly low confidence for Thursday and Friday.
This evening forecast
Heavy persistent rain this evening, falling as wet snow above 1000m, but turning dry towards midnight. Strong southeast winds across the summits, easing slightly for a time late evening, but a strong to gale force westerly developing towards midnight. Freezing level above the summits.
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.
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.
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
Outbreaks of rain turning to showers in the afternoon. Strong winds with summit gales.
| Time | 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weather (at 800m) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chance of precipitation (at 800m) |
10% | 10% | 20% | 70% | 60% | 60% | 10% | <05% |
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300m |
W
42
|
SW
39
|
SW
33
|
SW
29
|
SW
39
|
SW
41
|
SW
40
|
SW
29
|
| 900m |
SW
37
|
SW
36
|
SW
30
|
SW
28
|
SW
36
|
SW
36
|
SW
35
|
SW
25
|
| 600m |
SW
24
|
SW
22
|
SW
20
|
SW
16
|
SW
22
|
SW
23
|
SW
21
|
SW
13
|
| 300m |
SW
9
|
SW
9
|
SW
7
|
SW
5
|
SW
10
|
SW
11
|
SW
10
|
SW
4
|
| Glen |
SW
4
|
SW
4
|
SW
4
|
SW
3
|
SW
5
|
SW
5
|
SW
4
|
SW
3
|
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300m | 54 | 50 | 43 | 38 | 51 | 54 | 52 | 39 |
| 900m | 44 | 43 | 36 | 34 | 44 | 44 | 43 | 31 |
| 600m | 30 | 30 | 27 | 22 | 29 | 31 | 30 | 19 |
| 300m | 24 | 24 | 18 | 15 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 14 |
| Glen | 23 | 24 | 21 | 17 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 18 |
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300m |
-1°
|
-1°
|
-1°
|
-1°
|
-2°
|
-1°
|
-1°
|
-1°
|
| 900m |
2°
|
3°
|
3°
|
2°
|
2°
|
2°
|
2°
|
2°
|
| 600m |
5°
|
5°
|
5°
|
4°
|
4°
|
4°
|
4°
|
4°
|
| 300m |
5°
|
5°
|
5°
|
4°
|
5°
|
5°
|
5°
|
5°
|
| Glen |
6°
|
6°
|
5°
|
5°
|
6°
|
7°
|
6°
|
6°
|
| Freezing Level |
1,100m
|
1,200m
|
1,100m
|
1,200m
|
1,100m
|
1,200m
|
1,100m
|
1,200m
|
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300m |
-10°
|
-10°
|
-10°
|
-9°
|
-11°
|
-11°
|
-10°
|
-9°
|
| 900m |
-6°
|
-5°
|
-4°
|
-5°
|
-6°
|
-6°
|
-5°
|
-4°
|
| 600m |
-1°
|
0°
|
0°
|
0°
|
-2°
|
-2°
|
-1°
|
0°
|
| 300m |
2°
|
2°
|
2°
|
3°
|
2°
|
2°
|
2°
|
3°
|
| Glen |
4°
|
3°
|
3°
|
3°
|
4°
|
4°
|
3°
|
4°
|
Additional weather information
Met Office Aberdeen meteorologist's view
Wet weather will notably enhance the already significant wind chill. Expect very wet conditions underfoot, with high water courses making river crossings hazardous.
Weather
Dry but mostly cloudy through the early hours, clear spells across eastern Cairngorms. Showery outbreaks of rain spread northeast around dawn, continuing through the morning, occasionally heavy with some sleet or wet snow above munro level. Some drier spells in the afternoon with showers dying out at the end of the day. A mostly cloudy evening, but clear spells across the northeast.
Chance of cloud-free hill tops
30%, best chance early and late.
Low cloud and visibility
Some good visibility to start and end the day with patchy cloud around 900-1000m, best of the cloud breaks north of the Cairngorm plateau. Generally very poor visibility mid-morning to late afternoon in persistent cloud above 800m, rain and summit snow.
Mountain weather information
Weather
Dry but cloudy in the early hours, but rain spreads north before dawn, soon turning heavy. Severe gales increasing to storm force winds with persistent heavy rain for much of the morning. Rain turning lighter and more showery in the afternoon and evening, but winds strengthening further.
Chance of cloud-free hill tops
20% in the morning, 40% late afternoon.
Maximum wind speed expected
Southeast 45 gusting 55 mph soon increasing to 60 gusting 75 mph in the morning. Becoming southwest 70 gusting 80-90 mph afternoon and evening.
Temperature
- At 800m Plus 3 Celsius rising to 9 Celsius. Falling to plus 3 Celsius in the evening.
- Glen Plus 4 Celsius rising to 13 Celsius.
- Freezing level Well above the summits, dropping to 1200m in the evening.
Low cloud and visibility
Very poor visibility through the morning in persistent heavy rain and cloud down to 700-800m. Cloud gradually lifting through the afternoon, around 1000m by dusk, occasionally above the summits in the evening.
Mountain weather information
Wed 10 Dec
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Southwest severe gale to storm force winds. Cloudy with occasionally heavy showers, frequent in the west, falling as snow at munro level. Freezing level around 1200m.
Thu 11 Dec
Sunrise:
Sunset:
A lot of uncertainty, especially around win strength. Winds likely to ease slightly, but may strengthen again later in the day. Most likely cloudy with rain at times. Freezing level above the summits, but may drop to 1000m by evening.
Fri 12 Dec
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Outbreaks of rain, preceded by summit snow and fresh to strong southerly winds, but large uncertainty.
Updated at:
Summit specific forecast
Mountain summit forecast map
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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