Mountain weather

Mountain weather

South Grampian and Southeast Highlands

Confidence

High confidence in unsettled conditions throughout. Lower confidence for exact details on Saturday afternoon and from Monday.

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.
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.

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 weather forecast

Cloudy west, brighter east. Rain and wind in evening. Strong winds, risk of gales on tops.

Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Weather symbols Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy Light rain Light rain
Chance of
precipitation
(at 800m)
Chance of precipitation
20%
20%
10%
10%
40%
80%

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 40mph knots
SW
40mph
W 30mph knots
W
30mph
W 27mph knots
W
27mph
W 32mph knots
W
32mph
W 33mph knots
W
33mph
SW 34mph knots
SW
34mph
900m
900m SW 28mph knots
SW
28mph
W 26mph knots
W
26mph
W 23mph knots
W
23mph
W 25mph knots
W
25mph
W 23mph knots
W
23mph
SW 23mph knots
SW
23mph
600m
600m W 18mph knots
W
18mph
W 20mph knots
W
20mph
W 20mph knots
W
20mph
W 21mph knots
W
21mph
W 18mph knots
W
18mph
W 15mph knots
W
15mph
300m
300m W 7mph knots
W
7mph
W 14mph knots
W
14mph
W 16mph knots
W
16mph
W 15mph knots
W
15mph
W 12mph knots
W
12mph
W 8mph knots
W
8mph
Glen
Glen W 9mph knots
W
9mph
W 13mph knots
W
13mph
W 15mph knots
W
15mph
W 14mph knots
W
14mph
W 12mph knots
W
12mph
SW 7mph knots
SW
7mph

Wind gust

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1100m
1100m 46mph 36mph 34mph 40mph 40mph 42mph
900m
900m 34mph 32mph 31mph 33mph 30mph 30mph
600m
600m 31mph 30mph 30mph 33mph 30mph 29mph
300m
300m 17mph 28mph 29mph 28mph 24mph 20mph
Glen
Glen 18mph 25mph 26mph 24mph 23mph 19mph

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1100m
1100m 1 degrees Celsius 2 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius 2 degrees Celsius
900m
900m 5 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius
600m
600m 9 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius
300m
300m 14 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius
Glen
Glen 14 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 17 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius
Freezing Level Freezing Level
2700m
3000m
3100m
3000m
3000m
2900m

Additional weather information

Meteorologist's view

Windy conditions on exposed high terrain, which will likely be occasionally stronger than tables and apps show, will give difficult walking conditions with a significant risk of balance being affected.

Weather

Mostly cloudy but dry in the morning, though the small chance of the odd spot of light rain over western Perthshire, bright or sunny spells possible towards Aberdeenshire hills. Staying cloudy in the west through the afternoon, but some bright spells of hazy sunshine developing in the east. Further cloud and rain spreading southeast in the evening with strengthening westerly winds.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

In west: 20% or less at first rising to 40% by afternoon. In east, 60% rising to 80% or higher from mid-morning.

Low cloud and visibility

Quite widespread low cloud down to 400-600m over Perthshire hills for much of the day with visibilities falling moderate or poor in hill fog. Aberdeenshire and Angus hills will see often clear summits with good visibilities and any cloud layer above summit height.

Ground conditions

No recent ground conditions report available.

Summit specific forecast