Mountain weather

Northwest Highlands

Yellow warning

Yellow weather warning in force for Northwest Highlands

Northwest Highlands Mountain weather forecast table

Confidence

High confidence for extremely cold conditions to be setting in from Thursday with drifting accumulations of snow likely at all levels.

Sunrise:
Sunset:

This evening forecast

A dry evening with some clear spells at first before cloud increases later. Light northwest winds.

Sunrise:
Sunset:
Mountain hazards

Mountain weather hazards

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

hazard 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.

hazard 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.
hazard 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

Mainly cloudy with showery outbreaks of rain and summit snow. Winds strengthening with severe gales at height in the afternoon.

Time 00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Partly cloudy (night) Partly cloudy (night) Partly cloudy (night) Light snow Light snow Light snow Light snow shower (night) Light snow shower (night)
Chance of precipitation
(at 800m)
<05% <05% <05% 40% 60% 60% 30% 30%

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
1000m W
16
W
20
W
25
W
30
W
35
W
37
W
40
W
40
900m W
15
W
20
W
25
W
29
W
33
W
35
W
38
W
38
600m W
8
SW
12
W
14
SW
16
W
21
W
23
W
25
W
25
300m W
5
W
5
W
5
W
5
W
7
W
10
W
11
W
12
Glen W
2
W
3
SW
2
NW
5
W
9
W
12
W
15
W
17
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
1000m 19 25 32 39 44 48 52 53
900m 18 25 33 38 43 46 50 50
600m 11 17 22 24 31 34 38 38
300m 13 17 20 24 28 33 36 37
Glen 4 6 7 10 23 26 30 33

Altitude above mean sea level
Time 00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
1000m
-3°
-3°
-2°
-2°
-1°
-1°
-2°
-2°
900m
-2°
-2°
-2°
-1°
-1°
-1°
600m
300m
Glen
Freezing Level
400m
400m
500m
800m
1,000m
900m
800m
800m

Altitude above mean sea level
Time 00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
1000m
-10°
-10°
-10°
-11°
-10°
-10°
-11°
-11°
900m
-9°
-9°
-10°
-10°
-9°
-9°
-10°
-10°
600m
-5°
-5°
-5°
-5°
-4°
-4°
-5°
-6°
300m
-3°
-2°
-1°
-1°
Glen
-1°

Additional weather information

Met Office Aberdeen meteorologist's view

Very difficult walking conditions at height, especially in the afternoon with a significant risk of being blown over. Be prepared for sudden increases in wind on lee slopes.

Weather

Mainly cloudy with outbreaks of light rain, falling as snow above 800m. Further showery outbreaks of rain expected for the evening, these turning increasingly wintry to lower levels through the night. Bitterly cold with winds becoming strong on upper slopes and severe gales on summits by the evening.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

30% decreasing to 10%.

Low cloud and visibility

Cloud around 800-1000m to start the day, thickening and occasionally lowering slightly in outbreaks of rain, sleet and hill snow. Visibility will be generally good below cloud bases but perhaps deteriorating to a couple of kilometres or less in sleet and snow.

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Mountain weather information

Weather

A bitterly cold and windy day with frequent showers falling as snow and hail down to low levels and with drifting accumulations.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

30%

Maximum wind speed expected

Northwest 30-40mph, gusting to 50-55mph on the summits.

Temperature

  • At 800m Minus 2 decreasing minus 5 Celsius.
  • Glen Plus 1 decreasing minus 2 Celsius.
  • Freezing level 400m falling to the surface in the afternoon.

Low cloud and visibility

Generally good visibility, but quickly deteriorating poor or very poor in snow showers with cloud bases 700-900m or perhaps lower at times.

Mountain weather information

Fri 2 Jan

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Bitterly cold with sunny spells and snow or hail showers falling and accumulating at all levels.

Sat 3 Jan

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Remaining very cold with strong winds and snow or hail showers accumulating at all levels and extreme wind chill at height.

Sun 4 Jan

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Another severely cold day with sunny spells and snow or hail showers accumulating at all levels. Strong winds at height.

Updated at:

Summit specific forecast

Mountain summit forecast map

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For snow and avalanche hazard forecasts please visit Scottish Avalanche Information Service