Mountain weather

Mountain weather

South Grampian and Southeast Highlands

Confidence

High confidence in spells of unsettled weather and drier interludes. Lower confidence for extent of cloud, wind and rain on Friday and Saturday.

Mountain hazards

Mountain weather hazards

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

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.
Heavy Persistent Rain
Heavy and persistent rain can lead to drenched clothing and footwear with waterproofs often becoming soaked through, especially if accompanied by strong winds. This can lead to significant loss of body heat and an increased likelihood of hypothermia. Terrain may turn increasingly boggy underfoot while streams can flood and become impassable. There may also be a risk of flooding in valleys or glens. If there is snow cover, a heightened avalanche hazard is possible and avalanche reports should be consulted where available.
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

Cloud, rain in morning. Scattered heavy showers afternoon, thundery at times.

Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Weather symbols Heavy Rain Heavy Rain Heavy Rain Thundery showers Thundery showers Cloudy
Chance of
precipitation
(at 800m)
Chance of precipitation
90%
80%
≥95%
80%
60%
40%

Wind direction and speed

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1100m
1100m S 20mph knots
S
20mph
S 23mph knots
S
23mph
S 19mph knots
S
19mph
S 16mph knots
S
16mph
S 10mph knots
S
10mph
S 4mph knots
S
4mph
900m
900m S 14mph knots
S
14mph
S 16mph knots
S
16mph
S 14mph knots
S
14mph
S 12mph knots
S
12mph
S 8mph knots
S
8mph
S 3mph knots
S
3mph
600m
600m SE 4mph knots
SE
4mph
S 7mph knots
S
7mph
S 10mph knots
S
10mph
S 8mph knots
S
8mph
S 5mph knots
S
5mph
SW 2mph knots
SW
2mph
300m
300m SE 5mph knots
SE
5mph
S 7mph knots
S
7mph
S 7mph knots
S
7mph
S 6mph knots
S
6mph
SE 5mph knots
SE
5mph
E 2mph knots
E
2mph
Glen
Glen E 2mph knots
E
2mph
S 6mph knots
S
6mph
S 6mph knots
S
6mph
S 5mph knots
S
5mph
S 3mph knots
S
3mph
S 2mph knots
S
2mph

Wind gust

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1100m
1100m 24mph 28mph 24mph 21mph 14mph 5mph
900m
900m 17mph 21mph 19mph 18mph 12mph 4mph
600m
600m 8mph 16mph 18mph 15mph 9mph 3mph
300m
300m 10mph 12mph 14mph 13mph 9mph 5mph
Glen
Glen 5mph 12mph 13mph 12mph 7mph 5mph

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1100m
1100m 2 degrees Celsius 1 degrees Celsius 3 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius
900m
900m 5 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius
600m
600m 10 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius
300m
300m 12 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius
Glen
Glen 14 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius
Freezing Level Freezing Level
2100m
2200m
2300m
2400m
2500m
2400m

Additional weather information

Meteorologist's view

Soaking conditions in frequent heavy showers this afternoon. Risk of medium UV levels in strong sunlight between showers.

Weather

Cloudy this morning with outbreaks of rain, heavy at times. Cloud will break up somewhat during the middle of the day to allow heavy showers to develop, these may be thundery. Showers will gradually ease off through this evening.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

20% in the morning, best chance in northeast. Rising to 50% by the afternoon.

Low cloud and visibility

Quite widespread areas of cloud down to 600-800m in the morning and visibilities falling poor in heavy rain and hill fog. Cloud becomes more broken through the afternoon and often above summits but visibilities will rapidly fall poor as heavy showers pass through.

Ground conditions

No recent ground conditions report available.

Summit specific forecast