Mountain weather

Mountain weather

Northwest Highlands

Confidence

High for a largely fine day Monday and then rather unsettled, cold and showery through the coming days. Low confidence for Friday and arrival of more persistent rain.

Mountain hazards

Mountain weather hazards

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

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.
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.

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

Largely dry with sunny spells. Cold.

Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Weather symbols Sunny intervals Sunny intervals Sunny intervals Sunny intervals Dull Sleet
Chance of
precipitation
(at 800m)
Chance of precipitation
20%
10%
10%
10%
30%
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 N 18mph knots
N
18mph
N 12mph knots
N
12mph
NW 10mph knots
NW
10mph
NW 12mph knots
NW
12mph
W 15mph knots
W
15mph
SW 24mph knots
SW
24mph
900m
900m N 15mph knots
N
15mph
N 12mph knots
N
12mph
NW 10mph knots
NW
10mph
NW 13mph knots
NW
13mph
W 14mph knots
W
14mph
SW 22mph knots
SW
22mph
600m
600m N 7mph knots
N
7mph
N 10mph knots
N
10mph
NW 9mph knots
NW
9mph
W 11mph knots
W
11mph
W 12mph knots
W
12mph
SW 17mph knots
SW
17mph
300m
300m N 1mph knots
N
1mph
N 4mph knots
N
4mph
NW 5mph knots
NW
5mph
NW 7mph knots
NW
7mph
W 5mph knots
W
5mph
SW 4mph knots
SW
4mph
Glen
Glen SE 1mph knots
SE
1mph
N 4mph knots
N
4mph
NW 6mph knots
NW
6mph
W 10mph knots
W
10mph
W 7mph knots
W
7mph
S 7mph knots
S
7mph

Wind gust

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1000m
1000m 21mph 16mph 13mph 16mph 19mph 30mph
900m
900m 17mph 15mph 13mph 17mph 19mph 28mph
600m
600m 10mph 13mph 12mph 15mph 16mph 23mph
300m
300m 11mph 13mph 12mph 14mph 15mph 20mph
Glen
Glen 4mph 10mph 9mph 14mph 12mph 17mph

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1000m
1000m -12 degrees Celsius -9 degrees Celsius -6 degrees Celsius -6 degrees Celsius -7 degrees Celsius -8 degrees Celsius
900m
900m -10 degrees Celsius -8 degrees Celsius -5 degrees Celsius -5 degrees Celsius -6 degrees Celsius -7 degrees Celsius
600m
600m -4 degrees Celsius -4 degrees Celsius -2 degrees Celsius -1 degrees Celsius -2 degrees Celsius -3 degrees Celsius
300m
300m 1 degrees Celsius 3 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius 3 degrees Celsius
Glen
Glen 4 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius
Freezing Level Freezing Level
300m
400m
500m
600m
700m
1100m

Additional weather information

Meteorologist's view

Significant chill effect over higher summits despite the strong spring sunshine.

Weather

The odd snow shower possible at first. Otherwise a bright day with some good spells of sunshine. Cloud increases through the late afternoon and evening, bringing outbreaks of mainly light rain, falling initially as snow above about 750m.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

Around 75% at dawn but soon rising close to 100%, chances fall to around 25% through the evening.

Low cloud and visibility

Occasional cloud above about 600-750m at first soon lifting to leave little or no cloud below the summits through much of the day, but cloud becoming periods above 600-750m through the evening with patches below. Away from cloud visibility very good, falling to several kilometres in rain and perhaps a kilometre in snow showers and snow.

Ground conditions

No recent ground conditions report available.

Summit specific forecast