Mountain weather

Mountain weather

Northwest Highlands

Confidence

High for mostly settled weather to develop over the weekend and early next week. Low for extent of rain on Tuesday.

Mountain hazards

Mountain weather hazards

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

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

Rather cloudy with early showers, mainly dry in the afternoon

Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Weather symbols Fog Cloudy Cloudy Sunny intervals Sunny intervals Cloudy
Chance of
precipitation
(at 800m)
Chance of precipitation
40%
20%
20%
10%
<5%
<5%

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 19mph knots
N
19mph
N 15mph knots
N
15mph
N 16mph knots
N
16mph
NW 15mph knots
NW
15mph
NW 15mph knots
NW
15mph
NW 16mph knots
NW
16mph
900m
900m N 18mph knots
N
18mph
N 15mph knots
N
15mph
N 15mph knots
N
15mph
NW 15mph knots
NW
15mph
NW 15mph knots
NW
15mph
NW 15mph knots
NW
15mph
600m
600m N 11mph knots
N
11mph
N 11mph knots
N
11mph
N 12mph knots
N
12mph
N 12mph knots
N
12mph
N 11mph knots
N
11mph
NW 9mph knots
NW
9mph
300m
300m N 4mph knots
N
4mph
N 5mph knots
N
5mph
N 7mph knots
N
7mph
NW 7mph knots
NW
7mph
NW 7mph knots
NW
7mph
NW 4mph knots
NW
4mph
Glen
Glen NW 1mph knots
NW
1mph
N 6mph knots
N
6mph
N 8mph knots
N
8mph
N 8mph knots
N
8mph
NW 6mph knots
NW
6mph
NW 4mph knots
NW
4mph

Wind gust

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1000m
1000m 22mph 19mph 20mph 20mph 20mph 20mph
900m
900m 20mph 18mph 20mph 19mph 19mph 19mph
600m
600m 14mph 14mph 17mph 17mph 16mph 13mph
300m
300m 16mph 15mph 17mph 17mph 17mph 15mph
Glen
Glen 8mph 13mph 15mph 14mph 12mph 10mph

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1000m
1000m -2 degrees Celsius -2 degrees Celsius -1 degrees Celsius -1 degrees Celsius -1 degrees Celsius -2 degrees Celsius
900m
900m -1 degrees Celsius -1 degrees Celsius 0 degrees Celsius 0 degrees Celsius 0 degrees Celsius -1 degrees Celsius
600m
600m 3 degrees Celsius 3 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius
300m
300m 8 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius
Glen
Glen 11 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius
Freezing Level Freezing Level
1400m
1400m
1500m
1400m
1400m
1500m

Additional weather information

Meteorologist's view

Note cold temperatures at height, and combined with fresh winds will make for significant wind chill.

Weather

Rather cloudy in the morning with a few light showers at first. Dry in the afternoon with broken cloud, some sunshine possible across Skye and northern Lochaber.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

60%, best chance in the south of the area in the afternoon

Low cloud and visibility

Poor in areas of cloud down to 600 to 800 metres at first, and as low as 500 metres along coastal ranges. Then patchy cloud down to 900 metres with very good visibility in the afternoon.

Ground conditions

No recent ground conditions report available.

Summit specific forecast