Mountain weather

Mountain weather

Southwest Highlands

Confidence

Unsettled conditions continuing with high confidence for a transition to cooler more showery conditions later in the week. Uncertainties in amount of cloud and rain on Monday and details of showers from Tuesday onwards, keep up to date with the latest forecast.

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.
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.

Mountain weather forecast

Cloudy at first with rain spreading east during the afternoon, turning heavy for a time in the evening, poor visibility at times, freshening southerly winds.

Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Weather symbols Fog Cloudy Light rain Heavy Rain Heavy Rain Heavy Rain
Chance of
precipitation
(at 800m)
Chance of precipitation
20%
20%
60%
70%
90%
90%

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 NE 2mph knots
NE
2mph
NE 5mph knots
NE
5mph
SW 8mph knots
SW
8mph
S 12mph knots
S
12mph
S 17mph knots
S
17mph
S 20mph knots
S
20mph
900m
900m SE 2mph knots
SE
2mph
SE 5mph knots
SE
5mph
S 7mph knots
S
7mph
S 11mph knots
S
11mph
S 11mph knots
S
11mph
S 13mph knots
S
13mph
600m
600m NE 4mph knots
NE
4mph
NE 5mph knots
NE
5mph
SE 6mph knots
SE
6mph
SW 9mph knots
SW
9mph
E 8mph knots
E
8mph
S 12mph knots
S
12mph
300m
300m E 2mph knots
E
2mph
N 4mph knots
N
4mph
SW 5mph knots
SW
5mph
SW 8mph knots
SW
8mph
SW 5mph knots
SW
5mph
S 6mph knots
S
6mph
Glen
Glen S 1mph knots
S
1mph
E 3mph knots
E
3mph
S 4mph knots
S
4mph
SW 8mph knots
SW
8mph
S 3mph knots
S
3mph
S 5mph knots
S
5mph

Wind gust

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1300m
1300m 3mph 6mph 11mph 16mph 21mph 25mph
900m
900m 3mph 7mph 9mph 14mph 16mph 18mph
600m
600m 5mph 7mph 9mph 12mph 10mph 16mph
300m
300m 4mph 5mph 8mph 12mph 8mph 10mph
Glen
Glen 3mph 4mph 7mph 14mph 6mph 12mph

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1300m
1300m 6 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius 6 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius 4 degrees Celsius
900m
900m 8 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius
600m
600m 10 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 12 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius
300m
300m 12 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius
Glen
Glen 13 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 18 degrees Celsius 15 degrees Celsius 16 degrees Celsius 14 degrees Celsius
Freezing Level Freezing Level
2700m
2600m
2600m
2800m
3000m
3400m

Additional weather information

Meteorologist's view

Light winds in the morning, freshening from the south later in the day. A damp afternoon and evening on the hills.

Weather

A cloudy morning with low cloud layers over many of the hills, cloud lifting during the morning with the chance of some brightness at times for the Argyll hills, Glencoe and perhaps Lochaber. During the afternoon rain will spread east over the area, starting mainly light and intermittent but turning heavier during the evening and becoming persistent.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

40% during the morning, falling to 20% later.

Low cloud and visibility

Low cloud layers above 400m will be extensive at first in the morning in the south of the area, cloud bases will be more scattered above 600m with the best chance of clear summits around more northern hills in the area by late morning, areas like Glencoe and Glen Etive, the Mamores, Cruachan. Cloud will lower and fill again during the afternoon as rain spreads in with broken layers above 400m by late afternoon. Visibility will be moderate at first in the morning but becoming good by late morning. Visibility will reduce gradually in the afternoon as it becomes wetter and will be poor at times in the evening.

Ground conditions

No recent ground conditions report available.

Summit specific forecast