Mountain weather

Southwest Highlands

Southwest Highlands Mountain weather forecast table

Confidence

High confidence on conditions deteriorating tomorrow morning, but some uncertainty timing and extent of heavier precipitation. Low confidence for detail on Friday.

Sunrise:
Sunset:
Mountain hazards

Mountain weather hazards

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

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.

hazard 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.
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.

Mountain weather forecast

Rather cloudy with occasional spells of rain, sleet and snow during the day.

06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
Weather
(at 800m)
Partly cloudy (night) Cloudy Sleet Sleet Sleet Cloudy
Chance of precipitation
(at 800m)
20% 20% 40% 50% 30% 20%

Wind direction and speed (mph)
Altitude above mean sea level
06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
1300m E
38
E
50
E
44
E
43
E
41
E
36
900m E
26
E
35
E
29
E
29
E
28
E
24
600m E
22
E
40
E
29
NE
27
NE
27
E
29
300m N
9
E
16
E
18
E
17
NE
15
NE
13
Glen E
10
N
4
NE
12
NE
13
NE
12
NE
8
Wind gust (mph)
Altitude above mean sea level
06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
1300m 45 60 55 54 51 46
900m 31 44 40 40 39 32
600m 26 47 38 36 36 37
300m 11 23 27 25 22 21
Glen 19 12 23 25 24 19

Altitude above mean sea level
06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
1300m
-4°
-3°
-2°
-1°
-2°
-3°
900m
-3°
600m
300m
Glen
Freezing Level
500m
700m
1,000m
1,100m
1,000m
900m

Altitude above mean sea level
06:00 09:00 12:00 15:00 18:00 21:00
1300m
-14°
-14°
-12°
-11°
-12°
-12°
900m
-11°
-9°
-7°
-6°
-7°
-7°
600m
-4°
-5°
-4°
-3°
-4°
-4°
300m
-1°
Glen

Additional weather information

Met Office Aberdeen meteorologist's view

50-60mph gusts on the summits in the afternoon will give very difficult walking conditions. Note significant summit wind chill.

Weather

Rather cloudy with spells of mainly light rain, falling as snow above 900m. The best of the drier and brighter spells across Mull and Lochaber. Strong to gale east or southeasterly summit winds.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

70% at first, decreasing to 40% through the morning. Best chance across western most ranges.

Low cloud and visibility

Generally good visibility at first. Patchy summit cloud will thicken in the morning with occasional broken bases 800-1000m. Cloud base will occasionally lower to 600m and visibility become moderate in spells of rain, sleet and snow.

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Mountain weather information

Weather

Patchy cloud with occasional showers, falling as snow above 800m. The best of the brighter spells in the afternoon.

Chance of cloud-free hill tops

30% rising to 60%.

Maximum wind speed expected

30-40 mph in the afternoon and evening on summits.

Temperature

  • At 800m Plus 1 C
  • Glen Plus 1 C becoming Plus 9 C
  • Freezing level 900m.

Low cloud and visibility

Broken cloud bases 600-800m at first, tending to lift and become scattered through the afternoon.

Mountain weather information

Sat 30 Mar

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Sunny spells and scattered showers, mainly in the afternoon and falling as snow on summits. Strong summit southerlies.

Sun 31 Mar

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Mainly dry with good sunny spells. Moderate to fresh summit winds.

Mon 1 Apr

Sunrise:
Sunset:

Fairly cloudy with the odd shower, falling as snow on the summits. Fresh to strong summit winds.

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