Mountain weather

Mountain weather

Southwest Highlands

Confidence

Confidence remains high for a continuing unsettled westerly flow with rain and showers focussed across western Scotland. Confidence remains lower in detail of rainfall timing.

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.

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.

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.

Storm Force Winds
Storm force winds (gusts over 70mph) make walking very strenuous with any mobility virtually impossible over exposed ground. Where these conditions occur there is a high risk of being blown over and even standing may be impossible at times with a risk of being blown off one’s feet. Basic tasks such as using a map, eating, putting on extra clothing or communication become extremely difficult away from any shelter.
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.
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

Dry, bright soon becoming cloudy with locally heavy rain. Gale to severe gale southwest summit winds.

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

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 SW 37mph knots
SW
37mph
SW 37mph knots
SW
37mph
SW 39mph knots
SW
39mph
S 53mph knots
S
53mph
SW 44mph knots
SW
44mph
SW 43mph knots
SW
43mph
900m
900m W 26mph knots
W
26mph
SW 24mph knots
SW
24mph
SW 26mph knots
SW
26mph
SW 31mph knots
SW
31mph
SW 32mph knots
SW
32mph
SW 31mph knots
SW
31mph
600m
600m SW 30mph knots
SW
30mph
SW 31mph knots
SW
31mph
SW 32mph knots
SW
32mph
S 47mph knots
S
47mph
SW 35mph knots
SW
35mph
SW 36mph knots
SW
36mph
300m
300m S 12mph knots
S
12mph
SW 17mph knots
SW
17mph
SW 17mph knots
SW
17mph
S 20mph knots
S
20mph
SW 17mph knots
SW
17mph
SW 18mph knots
SW
18mph
Glen
Glen S 7mph knots
S
7mph
SW 12mph knots
SW
12mph
SW 14mph knots
SW
14mph
SW 15mph knots
SW
15mph
SW 13mph knots
SW
13mph
SW 13mph knots
SW
13mph

Wind gust

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1300m
1300m 44mph 45mph 49mph 65mph 55mph 54mph
900m
900m 32mph 30mph 34mph 43mph 43mph 42mph
600m
600m 36mph 38mph 40mph 58mph 46mph 46mph
300m
300m 19mph 24mph 26mph 31mph 28mph 31mph
Glen
Glen 19mph 23mph 29mph 32mph 27mph 28mph

Altitude above mean sea level
Time
Time
06:00
09:00
12:00
15:00
18:00
21:00
1300m
1300m -5 degrees Celsius -6 degrees Celsius -4 degrees Celsius -1 degrees Celsius 2 degrees Celsius -2 degrees Celsius
900m
900m 0 degrees Celsius 0 degrees Celsius 1 degrees Celsius 2 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius 2 degrees Celsius
600m
600m 3 degrees Celsius 3 degrees Celsius 3 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius 5 degrees Celsius
300m
300m 8 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 7 degrees Celsius 8 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 9 degrees Celsius
Glen
Glen 10 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 10 degrees Celsius 13 degrees Celsius 11 degrees Celsius
Freezing Level Freezing Level
1500m
1500m
2600m
3000m
2500m
1900m

Additional weather information

Meteorologist's view

A strong wind, low cloud and locally heavy rain will make walking and navigation difficult.

Weather

Dry with bright spells at first in the morning soon becoming cloudy with outbreaks of rain, some heavy, spreading northeast from mid-morning. The rain will clear from the late evening.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

10%.

Low cloud and visibility

Cloud will be extensive with base 500-700m falling to low slopes in heavy rain. The visibility will fall poor or very poor in rain.

Ground conditions

No recent ground conditions report available.

Summit specific forecast