Mountain weather
Northwest Highlands Mountain weather forecast table
Confidence
High confidence through the period and for a change to more wintry conditions from Thursday.
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.
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 with morning showers, drier and brighter in the afternoon. Fresh northeast summit winds.
| Time | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weather (at 800m) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chance of precipitation (at 800m) |
30% | 30% | 10% | 00% | 00% | 00% |
Wind direction and speed (mph)
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000m |
NE
25
|
NE
21
|
NE
15
|
E
18
|
E
21
|
E
17
|
| 900m |
NE
23
|
NE
19
|
NE
15
|
E
18
|
E
22
|
E
19
|
| 600m |
NE
11
|
NE
9
|
NE
8
|
E
11
|
E
13
|
E
12
|
| 300m |
NE
8
|
NE
4
|
NE
3
|
NE
5
|
E
6
|
E
7
|
| Glen |
NE
2
|
NE
3
|
NE
4
|
NE
6
|
E
8
|
E
10
|
Wind gust (mph)
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000m | 30 | 25 | 18 | 23 | 28 | 24 |
| 900m | 29 | 23 | 18 | 23 | 29 | 26 |
| 600m | 15 | 12 | 11 | 17 | 20 | 19 |
| 300m | 20 | 17 | 13 | 17 | 19 | 17 |
| Glen | 6 | 8 | 10 | 14 | 18 | 18 |
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000m |
0°
|
0°
|
-1°
|
-2°
|
-2°
|
-3°
|
| 900m |
0°
|
0°
|
0°
|
-1°
|
-2°
|
-3°
|
| 600m |
2°
|
2°
|
2°
|
1°
|
0°
|
0°
|
| 300m |
2°
|
3°
|
3°
|
2°
|
1°
|
0°
|
| Glen |
3°
|
4°
|
5°
|
4°
|
3°
|
2°
|
| Freezing Level |
800m
|
900m
|
800m
|
600m
|
400m
|
300m
|
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000m |
-7°
|
-7°
|
-7°
|
-8°
|
-10°
|
-10°
|
| 900m |
-7°
|
-6°
|
-6°
|
-8°
|
-9°
|
-10°
|
| 600m |
-3°
|
-2°
|
-2°
|
-4°
|
-5°
|
-6°
|
| 300m |
-1°
|
1°
|
2°
|
-1°
|
-3°
|
-4°
|
| Glen |
2°
|
3°
|
3°
|
1°
|
-1°
|
-2°
|
Additional weather information
Met Office Aberdeen meteorologist's view
Appropriate clothing will be required as it will feel bitterly cold from moderate heights in the fresh breeze.
Weather
Chance a brief wintry shower at first this morning. Otherwise dry with variable amounts of cloud.
Chance of cloud-free hill tops
40%, best chance of cloud breaks across the southwest of the area
Low cloud and visibility
Cloud will be broken with base 700-900m during the morning, this cloud will break to give sunny spells during the afternoon. The visibility will be mostly good, falling poor in showers.
Mountain weather information
Weather
The morning will begin bright but cloud will spread south from late morning. Most places will stay dry but there will be the chance of an odd shower through the afternoon.
Chance of cloud-free hill tops
70% decreasing 40% from early afternoon
Maximum wind speed expected
Northwest 10-15mph gust 25mph increasing 25-30mph gust 40mph by late afternoon
Temperature
- At 800m Minus 1C
- Glen Minus 4C rising plus 4C
- Freezing level 700m
Low cloud and visibility
Patchy morning cloud with a base 700-900m will increase from the late morning but the visibility will be good outwith the cloud.
Mountain weather information
Wed 31 Dec
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Cloudy with showers becoming frequent and wintry at height. Gale westerly summit winds, increase severe gale at times. Freezing level 1000m.
Thu 1 Jan
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Bright spells interspersed with snow showers, these falling as snow to low levels. Gale northwest summit winds. Freezing level 300m.
Fri 2 Jan
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Cloudy with scattered snow showers. Strong northwest summit winds. Freezing level 200m.
Updated at:
Summit specific forecast
Mountain summit forecast map
Loading map…
Key
Mountain summits
Other points of interest
Cluster of multiple stations
Separated from the Grampians by the Great Glen the weather forecast area includes Wester Ross, Assynt, Sutherland, Knoydart, Torridon, Glen Affric and the Cuillin Hills on the Isle of Skye.
For snow and avalanche hazard forecasts please visit Scottish Avalanche Information Service