Mountain weather

Mountain weather

Southwest Highlands

Confidence

High for the general story for the next couple of days with showery conditions but lower confidence in the extent of any heavy and thundery rain on Thursday. Low for the forecast from Sunday onwards so please keep updated on this in the coming days.

Mountain hazards

Mountain weather hazards

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

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.
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.

Mountain weather forecast

Occasional rain, perhaps heavy and thundery at times. Breezy.

Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Weather symbols Sunny intervals Cloudy Cloudy Heavy rain showers Heavy Rain Heavy rain showers (night)
Chance of
precipitation
(at 800m)
Chance of precipitation
30%
40%
40%
60%
60%
60%

Wind direction and speed

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1300m
1300m S 21mph knots
S
21mph
S 21mph knots
S
21mph
SW 25mph knots
SW
25mph
SW 23mph knots
SW
23mph
S 21mph knots
S
21mph
S 21mph knots
S
21mph
900m
900m S 9mph knots
S
9mph
S 11mph knots
S
11mph
SW 16mph knots
SW
16mph
SW 14mph knots
SW
14mph
SW 13mph knots
SW
13mph
S 13mph knots
S
13mph
600m
600m NE 7mph knots
NE
7mph
SW 9mph knots
SW
9mph
SW 18mph knots
SW
18mph
SW 17mph knots
SW
17mph
SW 14mph knots
SW
14mph
SW 13mph knots
SW
13mph
300m
300m NE 4mph knots
NE
4mph
SW 7mph knots
SW
7mph
SW 10mph knots
SW
10mph
SW 9mph knots
SW
9mph
SW 7mph knots
SW
7mph
S 6mph knots
S
6mph
Glen
Glen S 1mph knots
S
1mph
S 4mph knots
S
4mph
SW 9mph knots
SW
9mph
SW 8mph knots
SW
8mph
SW 6mph knots
SW
6mph
SW 5mph knots
SW
5mph

Wind gust

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1300m
1300m 23mph 25mph 31mph 29mph 26mph 26mph
900m
900m 11mph 15mph 21mph 19mph 17mph 17mph
600m
600m 9mph 11mph 23mph 22mph 19mph 16mph
300m
300m 5mph 9mph 13mph 13mph 11mph 10mph
Glen
Glen 2mph 8mph 16mph 16mph 12mph 12mph

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1300m
1300m 10 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius
900m
900m 13 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius
600m
600m 16 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius
300m
300m 18 degrees Celsius 17 degrees Celsius 18 degrees Celsius 17 degrees Celsius 18 degrees Celsius 17 degrees Celsius
Glen
Glen 19 degrees Celsius 20 degrees Celsius 20 degrees Celsius 19 degrees Celsius 19 degrees Celsius 19 degrees Celsius
Freezing Level Freezing Level
3400m
3100m
3000m
3400m
3400m
3300m

Additional weather information

Meteorologist's view

A chance of a drenching in heavy bursts of rain with a small risk of lightning too. Navigation could also become difficult across Lochaber ranges, especially near the coast. Feeling warm and humid.

Weather

Mostly cloudy with a few showers developing, heavy at times with a small chance of lightning, mainly in the afternoon and evening. Best of the bright spells across southern Argyll and Trossachs. Feeling rather warm and humid in the glens.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

70% across most ranges, becoming 30% across Lochaber.

Low cloud and visibility

Cloud mostly staying above the summits but some patches will affect the tops in showers. Occasional cloud, with bases 400 to 600m, spreading into Lochaber and locally falling to lower slopes over Mull.

Ground conditions

No recent ground conditions report available.

Summit specific forecast