Mountain weather

Mountain weather

Northwest Highlands

Confidence

High confidence until the weekend for cool and showery conditions. Lower confidence for Sunday for timing and extent of 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.
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.

Mountain weather forecast

Mostly cloudy with some bright spells and heavy, blustery showers. These wintry on higher ground.

Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Weather symbols Light snow showers Heavy snow showers Sleet showers Sleet showers Light snow showers Light snow showers (night)
Chance of
precipitation
(at 800m)
Chance of precipitation
40%
60%
60%
60%
30%
30%

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 25mph knots
N
25mph
N 20mph knots
N
20mph
N 19mph knots
N
19mph
NW 20mph knots
NW
20mph
N 22mph knots
N
22mph
NW 21mph knots
NW
21mph
900m
900m N 23mph knots
N
23mph
N 19mph knots
N
19mph
N 18mph knots
N
18mph
NW 20mph knots
NW
20mph
N 21mph knots
N
21mph
NW 20mph knots
NW
20mph
600m
600m N 15mph knots
N
15mph
N 15mph knots
N
15mph
N 15mph knots
N
15mph
N 16mph knots
N
16mph
N 16mph knots
N
16mph
N 11mph knots
N
11mph
300m
300m NW 3mph knots
NW
3mph
N 5mph knots
N
5mph
N 7mph knots
N
7mph
NW 8mph knots
NW
8mph
N 6mph knots
N
6mph
NW 3mph knots
NW
3mph
Glen
Glen NW 5mph knots
NW
5mph
NW 7mph knots
NW
7mph
N 8mph knots
N
8mph
N 10mph knots
N
10mph
NW 9mph knots
NW
9mph
N 4mph knots
N
4mph

Wind gust

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1000m
1000m 29mph 26mph 24mph 27mph 29mph 27mph
900m
900m 27mph 25mph 24mph 27mph 28mph 26mph
600m
600m 19mph 20mph 20mph 22mph 23mph 17mph
300m
300m 20mph 20mph 20mph 23mph 22mph 19mph
Glen
Glen 13mph 16mph 17mph 20mph 20mph 14mph

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1000m
1000m -8 degrees Celsius -7 degrees Celsius -6 degrees Celsius -6 degrees Celsius -7 degrees Celsius -7 degrees Celsius
900m
900m -7 degrees Celsius -6 degrees Celsius -4 degrees Celsius -5 degrees Celsius -6 degrees Celsius -6 degrees Celsius
600m
600m -2 degrees Celsius -2 degrees Celsius 0 degrees Celsius -1 degrees Celsius -2 degrees Celsius -1 degrees Celsius
300m
300m 4 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius
Glen
Glen 6 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius
Freezing Level Freezing Level
900m
900m
900m
900m
900m
900m

Additional weather information

Meteorologist's view

Feeling cold with heavy blustery and wintry showers. Care to be taken when navigating on the hills due to poor visibility and wet conditions.

Weather

Cloudy with showers through much of the day with some brighter and sunny spells. Showers may be heavy at times and wintry on highest ground before generally easing in the evening. Feeling cold on higher routes.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

30%.

Low cloud and visibility

Occasional low cloud with base 600-800m, especially in and around showers with some brighter spells and breaks in cloud developing between showers and later in the day. Visibility poor in cloud and showers, otherwise good.

Ground conditions

No recent ground conditions report available.

Summit specific forecast