Mountain weather
Northwest Highlands Mountain weather forecast table
Confidence
High confidence for a transition to less cold conditions from Friday. High confidence for unsettled weather through the period, but low confidence for details on Sunday.
This evening forecast
Mostly dry with clear spells and feeling bitterly cold with a widespread deep frost developing. Light north to northwest winds 10-15mph over the summits. A few showers continue to feed into northern and western coastal ranges, these falling as snow above 100-200m.
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.
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.
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
Dry, but cold morning. Cloudy, windy, some snow later.
| Time | 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weather (at 800m) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chance of precipitation (at 800m) |
<05% | 00% | 00% | <05% | 30% | 70% | 80% | >95% |
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 |
SW
6
|
SW
8
|
SW
17
|
S
23
|
SW
38
|
SW
39
|
SW
41
|
S
40
|
| 900m |
SW
5
|
SW
8
|
SW
16
|
S
21
|
SW
37
|
SW
37
|
SW
39
|
S
38
|
| 600m |
SW
5
|
SW
7
|
SW
11
|
S
11
|
SW
23
|
SW
23
|
SW
24
|
S
23
|
| 300m |
W
2
|
SW
2
|
SW
1
|
SW
2
|
SW
6
|
SW
5
|
SW
6
|
S
5
|
| Glen |
N
2
|
NE
2
|
N
1
|
N
2
|
S
11
|
S
8
|
S
15
|
S
14
|
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 | 7 | 10 | 20 | 27 | 46 | 48 | 51 | 49 |
| 900m | 7 | 10 | 19 | 24 | 46 | 46 | 49 | 47 |
| 600m | 7 | 9 | 13 | 15 | 32 | 32 | 34 | 33 |
| 300m | 5 | 7 | 10 | 13 | 29 | 28 | 31 | 29 |
| Glen | 3 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 25 | 22 | 33 | 31 |
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000m |
-4°
|
-4°
|
-4°
|
-4°
|
-3°
|
-2°
|
-1°
|
-1°
|
| 900m |
-4°
|
-4°
|
-4°
|
-3°
|
-2°
|
-1°
|
0°
|
0°
|
| 600m |
-2°
|
-2°
|
-2°
|
-1°
|
0°
|
1°
|
2°
|
2°
|
| 300m |
-6°
|
-4°
|
-3°
|
-1°
|
2°
|
2°
|
2°
|
3°
|
| Glen |
-6°
|
-8°
|
-6°
|
2°
|
4°
|
4°
|
5°
|
5°
|
| Freezing Level |
100m
|
200m
|
100m
|
200m
|
500m
|
800m
|
1,100m
|
1,200m
|
Altitude above mean sea level
| Time | 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000m |
-8°
|
-9°
|
-12°
|
-12°
|
-12°
|
-11°
|
-11°
|
-10°
|
| 900m |
-7°
|
-8°
|
-11°
|
-11°
|
-11°
|
-10°
|
-10°
|
-9°
|
| 600m |
-6°
|
-6°
|
-7°
|
-6°
|
-6°
|
-6°
|
-5°
|
-5°
|
| 300m |
-8°
|
-7°
|
-5°
|
-3°
|
-1°
|
0°
|
0°
|
0°
|
| Glen |
-8°
|
-11°
|
-8°
|
0°
|
0°
|
2°
|
0°
|
1°
|
Additional weather information
Met Office Aberdeen meteorologist's view
Feeling bitterly cold so suitable clothing is advised. Note the strengthening winds which will give increasingly difficult walking conditions with a risk of being blown off balance. Navigation could be challenging with energy output significantly increased when walking into the wind
Weather
Dry and clear with sunny spells, albeit very cold, through the early morning. Turning hazier from mid-morning high level cloud spreads in from the west. Cloud down to lower levels spreads in from the west through the afternoon, with rain, or snow on the highest summits, persisting through the evening. Strengthening southwest winds with summit gales over higher ground from the afternoon.
Chance of cloud-free hill tops
90% or more in morning. Falling to 30% from afternoon, best chances in the northeast.
Low cloud and visibility
Summits clear and good visibilities through the morning. Quite widespread areas of cloud down to 400-600m spread in through the afternoon with visibilities falling moderate or poor in hill fog or light snow.
Mountain weather information
Weather
Widespread cloud and rain, or snow above 800-1000m, will clear east in the early morning. Then bright spells and scattered showers through the rest of the day, falling as snow above 900-1000m, perhaps becoming more persistent from the southwest through the evening. Feeling a touch less cold than Friday, but still a moderate wind chill at height.
Chance of cloud-free hill tops
Little chance in the early morning. Rising to 40% by afternoon.
Maximum wind speed expected
West to southwest 20-30mph
Temperature
- At 800m Minus 2C to 0C.
- Glen Plus 1C rising to plus 4C.
- Freezing level 1000-1200m
Low cloud and visibility
Quite widespread cloud down to 300-500m in the morning and visibilities falling poor in rain, hill snow or hill fog. Quite frequent areas of cloud dropping to 600-800m in the west in the afternoon as scattered showers pass through.
Mountain weather information
Sun 23 Nov
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Showers or longer spells of rain, snow on the summits. Freezing level around 1000m. Strong winds.
Mon 24 Nov
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Bright spells and scattered showers, wintry over the summits. Freezing level around 600-800m. Fresh to strong northerly winds.
Tue 25 Nov
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Bright spells and a few showers. Freezing level around 600-800m. Light to moderate winds.
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