Mountain weather

Northwest Highlands

Northwest Highlands Mountain weather forecast table

Confidence

High for some rain and extensive hill fog on Friday and at first on Saturday. Also high confidence for mostly dry, brighter and settled weather for rest of weekend and into next week.

Sunrise:
Sunset:

This evening forecast

Cloudy this evening with outbreaks of rain, becoming more persistent and turning heavier in the north. Windy with strong southwesterly winds.

Sunrise:
Sunset:
Mountain hazards

Mountain weather hazards

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

hazard 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.

hazard 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.

Mountain weather forecast

Cloudy morning with outbreaks of rain. Drier afternoon, some brighter interludes in north. Winds becoming light.

00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Light rain Light rain Light rain Light rain Light rain Cloudy Cloudy Cloudy
Chance of precipitation
(at 800m)
30% 60% 80% 80% 30% 20% 10% 10%

Wind direction and speed (mph)
Altitude above mean sea level
00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
1000m SW
39
W
34
W
23
NW
12
N
9
NE
8
E
11
E
12
900m SW
37
W
32
W
22
NW
12
N
9
NE
8
E
11
E
12
600m SW
28
W
23
W
16
N
10
N
7
NE
7
E
9
E
10
300m SW
10
W
9
W
7
N
5
N
5
NE
3
E
6
E
5
Glen SW
13
W
13
W
11
N
11
N
9
N
7
NE
8
E
8
Wind gust (mph)
Altitude above mean sea level
00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
1000m 51 45 31 17 13 11 15 17
900m 49 43 31 17 13 11 15 17
600m 40 33 24 15 12 10 14 15
300m 36 32 24 15 12 9 12 13
Glen 27 26 22 19 16 12 13 12

Altitude above mean sea level
00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
1000m
900m
600m
300m
Glen
11°
11°
11°
10°
Freezing Level
2,500m
2,600m
2,300m
2,000m
1,400m
1,200m
1,200m
1,400m

Altitude above mean sea level
00:00 03:00 06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
1000m
-2°
-2°
-2°
-4°
-4°
900m
-1°
-2°
-1°
-3°
-3°
600m
300m
Glen

Additional weather information

Met Office Aberdeen meteorologist's view

Note marked reduction in wind strength during the morning, but continuing to feel bitterly cold on higher tops.

Weather

Cloudy overnight with outbreaks of rain. Strong westerly winds and feeling bitterly cold. It will remain mostly cloudy during the day with rain clearing southwards in the morning. Drier in the afternoon with brighter/clearer interludes developing, especially over north Highlands. Winds will become much lighter.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

30% improving 50% during afternoon, best in north.

Low cloud and visibility

Poor visibility in rain and also in fog which will be extensive above about 600 to 700m in the morning, with patches lower down. Away from rain, visibility will become good beneath the clouds, bases lifting higher up the hills, with some breaks developing, especially over north Highlands.

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Mountain weather information

Weather

Mostly cloudy morning with patchy drizzle, mostly over mountains close to West Coast. Dry, brighter weather in the east, developing more widely in the afternoon.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

30% improving 60% in afternoon, best in east.

Maximum wind speed expected

Southerly winds with average speeds of 10 to 15mph on lower slopes, 25mph over higher ridges, summits.

Temperature

  • At 800m Plus 7 Celsius.
  • Glen 8 Celsius rising to 13 Celsius.
  • Freezing level Above the summits.

Low cloud and visibility

Poor visibility in patchy drizzle and in clouds, extensive above about 600 to 700m in west. Mostly good visibility in the east with more broken cloud cover, higher up the hills, extending to many ranges in afternoon.

Mountain weather information

Sun 3 Nov

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Mostly dry and rather cloudy but some sunshine likely in east of area. Light southwest winds.

Mon 4 Nov

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Dry with sunny spells, best over north Highlands. Freshening southerly winds on the tops.

Tue 5 Nov

Sunrise:
Sunset:

The dry weather looks set to continue with some sunshine. Fresh southerly winds, strong over higher peaks.

Updated at:

Summit specific forecast

Mountain summit forecast map

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For snow and avalanche hazard forecasts please visit Scottish Avalanche Information Service