Mountain weather

Northwest Highlands

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Northwest Highlands Mountain weather forecast table

Confidence

High confidence in the south to southeasterly wind direction continuing throughout, and strengthening by Tuesday with unsettled conditions dominating.

Sunrise:
Sunset:

This evening forecast

Generally dry with clear spells. Patchy mist and fog in the east. Strong winds on tops.

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 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.

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.
Mountain hazards explained
Avalanche information for Scotland. Scottish Avalanche Information Service.

Mountain weather forecast

Cloudy west coast, outbreaks of rain and hill snow. Drier, sunny spells in east. Strong to gale force winds.

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) Sleet Sleet Sleet shower (day) Partly cloudy (night) Partly cloudy (night)
Chance of precipitation
(at 800m)
 10% 10% 10% 40% 60% 30% 10% <05%

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 SE
30
 SE
33
 S
34
 SE
34
 S
32
 SE
27
 SE
19
 SE
19
900m SE
26
 SE
30
 S
32
 SE
31
 S
28
 SE
25
 SE
17
 SE
17
600m SE
17
 S
18
 S
19
 SE
19
 S
18
 SE
15
 SE
12
 SE
10
300m SE
1
 SE
1
 S
2
 SE
2
 S
2
 S
2
 E
3
 E
5
Glen E
8
 SE
8
 SE
8
 SE
10
 SE
9
 SE
6
 E
9
 E
9
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 34 38 40 40 37 32 23 22
900m 30 35 38 36 33 30 21 21
600m 21 24 26 25 24 21 16 14
300m 13 17 19 22 19 15 12 12
Glen 16 17 20 23 21 15 12 13

Altitude above mean sea level
Time 00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
1000m
0°
-1°
-2°
-2°
-1°
-1°
0°
0°
900m
0°
-1°
-1°
-1°
0°
0°
0°
0°
600m
2°
1°
1°
1°
2°
2°
2°
2°
300m
2°
2°
2°
2°
3°
3°
2°
1°
Glen
5°
5°
5°
6°
6°
6°
5°
5°
Freezing Level
800m
700m
700m
800m
900m
1,000m
800m
500m

Altitude above mean sea level
Time 00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
1000m
-9°
-10°
-11°
-11°
-10°
-9°
-7°
-6°
900m
-7°
-9°
-9°
-9°
-8°
-7°
-6°
-6°
600m
-3°
-4°
-5°
-5°
-4°
-3°
-2°
-2°
300m
1°
0°
0°
1°
1°
2°
0°
-2°
Glen
3°
2°
2°
3°
4°
4°
2°
2°

Additional weather information

Met Office Aberdeen meteorologist's view

Poor visibility in hill fog will make for challenging navigation on the west coast. Note the strong winds on tops bringing a significant windchill.

Weather

Cloud and hill fog lingering on western coasts through much of daytime alongside outbreaks of rain, snow above 800m. Generally dry inland with the best of the sunnier spells across Eastern Ross and up to Caithness. Strong to gale force winds on tops. Turning widely dry with clear spells in the evening.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

10% for The Cuillin, 70% for Ben Wyvis. Best chances in the afternoon. Increasing widely 80% in the evening.

Low cloud and visibility

Low cloud bases extensive on the west coast and lingering around 600-700m for much of daytime. Much clearer inland with just a few patches of summit cloud for a time. Becoming widely clearer in the evening.

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Mountain weather information

Weather

A few early showers clearing to the north in the morning. Otherwise dry during daytime with lengthy sunny spells and just the odd patch of hill fog on southerly aspects. Windy with gales on tops bringing a severe windchill.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

70%.

Maximum wind speed expected

Mean speed 30-35mph in exposure, gusting 40-50mph, but strengthening further on summits and ridges later.

Temperature

  • At 800m Zero Celsius.
  • Glen Plus 1 Celsius rising 7 Celsius.
  • Freezing level 800-1000m.

Low cloud and visibility

Good visibility below any patches of cloud with bases 900-1000m, these mainly on southerly aspects.

Mountain weather information

Wed 21 Jan

Sunrise:
Sunset:

A windy day with severe southeasterly gales on tops and outbreaks of rain and hill snow. Freezing level 1000m.

Thu 22 Jan

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Another very windy day with severe gales on tops and a few showers or spells of rain or snow. Freezing level 500-700m.

Fri 23 Jan

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Very windy conditions continuing, severe gales on tops and showers or outbreaks of rain and hill snow. Freezing level 600-800m.

Updated at:
Mountain weather explained

Summit specific forecast

Mountain summit forecast map

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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

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