Mountain weather

Mountain weather

Northwest Highlands

Confidence

Unsettled conditions continuing with high confidence for a transition to cooler more showery conditions later in the week. Uncertainties in amount of cloud and rain on Monday and details of showers from Tuesday onwards, keep up to date with the latest forecast.

Mountain hazards

Mountain weather hazards

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

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.

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

Cloudy at first with rain spreading northeast during the afternoon, turning heavy for a time in the evening, poor visibility at times, freshening southerly winds.

Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Weather symbols Cloudy Sunny intervals Light rain Heavy Rain Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
Chance of
precipitation
(at 800m)
Chance of precipitation
20%
30%
50%
60%
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
1000m
1000m E 3mph knots
E
3mph
SE 7mph knots
SE
7mph
SE 9mph knots
SE
9mph
S 10mph knots
S
10mph
SE 18mph knots
SE
18mph
SE 17mph knots
SE
17mph
900m
900m E 3mph knots
E
3mph
SE 8mph knots
SE
8mph
SE 8mph knots
SE
8mph
S 10mph knots
S
10mph
SE 17mph knots
SE
17mph
SE 15mph knots
SE
15mph
600m
600m NE 2mph knots
NE
2mph
SE 6mph knots
SE
6mph
SE 7mph knots
SE
7mph
S 8mph knots
S
8mph
SE 11mph knots
SE
11mph
SE 10mph knots
SE
10mph
300m
300m E 2mph knots
E
2mph
SE 4mph knots
SE
4mph
SE 3mph knots
SE
3mph
S 3mph knots
S
3mph
SE 4mph knots
SE
4mph
SE 2mph knots
SE
2mph
Glen
Glen NE 1mph knots
NE
1mph
SW 2mph knots
SW
2mph
S 3mph knots
S
3mph
SW 3mph knots
SW
3mph
SE 5mph knots
SE
5mph
SE 5mph knots
SE
5mph

Wind gust

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1000m
1000m 4mph 10mph 12mph 14mph 23mph 21mph
900m
900m 4mph 10mph 11mph 13mph 22mph 19mph
600m
600m 3mph 8mph 10mph 12mph 16mph 14mph
300m
300m 4mph 7mph 8mph 10mph 14mph 11mph
Glen
Glen 2mph 4mph 6mph 5mph 12mph 11mph

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1000m
1000m 7 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius
900m
900m 8 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius
600m
600m 10 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius
300m
300m 12 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius
Glen
Glen 14 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 18 degrees Celsius 18 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius
Freezing Level Freezing Level
2400m
2400m
2400m
2600m
2700m
3100m

Additional weather information

Meteorologist's view

Light winds in the morning, freshening from the southeast later in the day. A damp afternoon and evening on the hills.

Weather

A bright morning around the west coast but low cloud around hills further inland, cloud lifting during the morning with the chance of some brightness at times for the northern ranges. During the afternoon rain will spread northeast over the area, starting mainly light and intermittent but turning heavier during the evening and becoming persistent. The Caithness hills will be the last to see the rain later in the evening.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

20% improving to 50% during the morning, falling to 20% again later.

Low cloud and visibility

Low cloud layers above 400m will be extensive for hills away from the west coast at first, Skye likely to be affected by some low cloud too in the morning, cloud bases will become more scattered above 600m with the best chance of clear summits around more northern hills by late morning. Cloud will lower and fill again during the afternoon as rain spreads in with broken layers above 400m by late afternoon. Visibility will be moderate at first in the morning but becoming good by late morning. Visibility will reduce gradually in the afternoon as it becomes wetter and will be poor at times in the evening.

Ground conditions

No recent ground conditions report available.

Summit specific forecast