Mountain weather

Mountain weather

South Grampian and Southeast Highlands

Confidence

High for the general development and for a series of wet and windy spells interspersed with more settled periods. Low confidence for details from late Tuesday through to Wednesday afternoon.

Sunrise: Sunset:
Sunrise: Sunset:
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.

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.
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.
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

Light rain morning. Drizzle, low cloud west. Clear spells east. Fresh winds.

Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Weather symbols Light rain Fog Fog Sunny intervals Sunny intervals Partly cloudy (night)
Chance of
precipitation
(at 800m)
Chance of precipitation
60%
40%
10%
10%
10%
10%

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 SW 29mph knots
SW
29mph
SW 34mph knots
SW
34mph
SW 32mph knots
SW
32mph
SW 30mph knots
SW
30mph
SW 31mph knots
SW
31mph
SW 32mph knots
SW
32mph
900m
900m SW 18mph knots
SW
18mph
SW 22mph knots
SW
22mph
SW 23mph knots
SW
23mph
SW 21mph knots
SW
21mph
SW 20mph knots
SW
20mph
SW 20mph knots
SW
20mph
600m
600m SW 5mph knots
SW
5mph
SW 10mph knots
SW
10mph
SW 18mph knots
SW
18mph
W 17mph knots
W
17mph
SW 16mph knots
SW
16mph
SW 16mph knots
SW
16mph
300m
300m NE 1mph knots
NE
1mph
SW 2mph knots
SW
2mph
W 9mph knots
W
9mph
W 13mph knots
W
13mph
SW 10mph knots
SW
10mph
SW 9mph knots
SW
9mph
Glen
Glen W 2mph knots
W
2mph
W 2mph knots
W
2mph
SW 11mph knots
SW
11mph
W 10mph knots
W
10mph
W 7mph knots
W
7mph
W 7mph knots
W
7mph

Wind gust

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1100m
1100m 35mph 40mph 39mph 38mph 40mph 41mph
900m
900m 24mph 28mph 30mph 28mph 30mph 30mph
600m
600m 12mph 22mph 28mph 28mph 30mph 30mph
300m
300m 4mph 11mph 20mph 24mph 21mph 21mph
Glen
Glen 7mph 7mph 21mph 20mph 16mph 16mph

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1100m
1100m 2 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius
900m
900m 4 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius
600m
600m 8 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius
300m
300m 7 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius
Glen
Glen 8 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 17 degrees Celsius 18 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius
Freezing Level Freezing Level
3600m
3200m
3000m
3100m
3100m
3000m

Additional weather information

Meteorologist's view

Gusts approaching 40-50mph or so over the summits will give difficult walking conditions with a risk of being blown off balance. Navigation could be challenging in hill fog and energy output significantly increased when walking into the wind. Feeling chilly at height in the morning with rain, low cloud, and strong winds, but warm in any afternoon sunshine.

Weather

Light rain spread east in the morning. Widespread low cloud spreading in from the west and shrouding summits west of the A9 and western Angus hills through the day with outbreaks of mainly light drizzle. Good clear spells developing in the sheltered east towards Aberdeenshire and northeastern Angus Hills, feeling warm in the sunshine.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

10% or less in west, 60% in east.

Low cloud and visibility

Quite widespread cloud down to 500-700m feeds in from the west through the morning and remains over western ranges throughout the day with visibilities poor in rain, drizzle and hill fog. Clear breaks in shelter in the east through the afternoon and evening.

Ground conditions

No recent ground conditions report available.

Summit specific forecast