Mountain weather

Mountain weather

Northwest Highlands

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yellow Warning
Yellow weather warnings in force for Northwest Highlands

Confidence

Moderate confidence for heavy showers developing on Thursday and Friday, lower confidence in where showers develop. Feeling cooler from Sunday.

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.
Thunderstorms
Lightning is a significant mountain hazard which can result in serious injury or death. Mountain terrain often leaves one highly exposed to lightning strikes. Hail may give unpleasant conditions with torrential rain and localised flash flooding also possible, mainly in Summer months.

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.
Updated: 
Mountain hazards explained

Mountain weather forecast

Cloudy with some light rain, rain turning showery with some heavy and thundery in the afternoon.

Time
 Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
 Weather symbols Sunny intervals Sunny intervals Light rain showers Heavy rain showers Thundery showers Heavy rain showers
Chance of
precipitation
(at 800m)
 Chance of precipitation
20%
20%
30%
50%
60%
50%

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 W 9mph knots
W
9mph
 N 7mph knots
N
7mph
 E 9mph knots
E
9mph
 E 13mph knots
E
13mph
 E 14mph knots
E
14mph
 N 7mph knots
N
7mph
900m
 900m W 7mph knots
W
7mph
 N 5mph knots
N
5mph
 E 8mph knots
E
8mph
 E 12mph knots
E
12mph
 E 12mph knots
E
12mph
 N 7mph knots
N
7mph
600m
 600m W 4mph knots
W
4mph
 N 4mph knots
N
4mph
 E 5mph knots
E
5mph
 E 10mph knots
E
10mph
 E 9mph knots
E
9mph
 N 5mph knots
N
5mph
300m
 300m SW 0mph knots
SW
0mph
 S 0mph knots
S
0mph
 E 1mph knots
E
1mph
 E 4mph knots
E
4mph
 NE 3mph knots
NE
3mph
 N 3mph knots
N
3mph
Glen
 Glen W 3mph knots
W
3mph
 W 4mph knots
W
4mph
 W 2mph knots
W
2mph
 SW 5mph knots
SW
5mph
 NW 6mph knots
NW
6mph
 N 2mph knots
N
2mph

Wind gust

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
 Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1000m
 1000m 10mph 9mph 12mph 16mph 17mph 10mph
900m
 900m 8mph 6mph 11mph 16mph 15mph 10mph
600m
 600m 5mph 6mph 7mph 14mph 12mph 8mph
300m
 300m 5mph 3mph 7mph 12mph 9mph 8mph
Glen
 Glen 4mph 6mph 4mph 9mph 11mph 6mph

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
 Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1000m
 1000m 7 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius
900m
 900m 8 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius
600m
 600m 11 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius
300m
 300m 13 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 19 degrees Celsius 17 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius
Glen
 Glen 14 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 17 degrees Celsius 19 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius
Freezing Level Freezing Level
3600m
3700m
3700m
3800m
3700m
3600m

Additional weather information

Meteorologist's view

Risk of heavy showers or perhaps thunderstorms later in the day with hail and lightning as hazards. Winds may be gusty around any heavy showers.

Weather

A rather cloudy morning with some light rain developing particularly for more northwesterly ranges, some brightness possible in the south and east at first. Rain will turn heavier in the afternoon, hills to the south like the Glen Affric and Ben Wyvis may escape the worst of this until later in the day. During the late afternoon showers may turn thundery with a risk of large hail on the hills and frequent lightning. Showers continuing into the evening.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

30% in the north, 50% in the south of the area.

Low cloud and visibility

Scattered or broken low cloud layers above 500m in the northwest at times, low cloud will be patchier above 700m further south and east. Visibility is expected to be mainly good but occasionally moderate in the northwest in the morning. Visibility is likely to be moderate or poor in any afternoon showers.

Ground conditions

No recent ground conditions report available.

Summit specific forecast

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.

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