Mountain weather
Lake District Mountain weather forecast table
Confidence
High for conditions turning more settled Tuesday morning. Medium for relatively fair conditions holding for Wednesday and Thursday, then low for detail from Friday.
This evening forecast
Cloudy with showers or longer periods of rain falling as snow across highest tops. This brings significant hill fog, which combined with summit gales will bring some hazardous conditions.
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.
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.
Blizzards
Blizzards and whiteouts present challenging and serious conditions due to a combination of falling or blowing snow, strong winds and cold temperatures. They can be highly disorientating, often resulting in near-zero visibility with limited or no visual references and no distinction between ground and sky. Cliff edges and cornices may not be apparent, even close up. These conditions require very good navigational skills.
Heavy snow
Heavy snow can lead to rapid changes in underfoot conditions and paths may become treacherous or hidden. It also brings very poor visibility and often makes navigation much more challenging. When deep snow accumulates progress is often time consuming and strenuous, significantly affecting the distance one can travel on foot. Deep drifts can develop if snow is combined with strong winds. A heightened avalanche risk is possible and avalanche reports should be consulted where available.
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
Showers, wintry at height. Becoming drier and brighter. Windy with a severe wind chill.
| 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weather (at 800m) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chance of precipitation (at 800m) |
90% | 80% | 50% | 50% | 40% | 30% | 30% | 20% |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900m |
W
45
|
W
48
|
NW
35
|
NW
31
|
NW
36
|
NW
36
|
NW
32
|
NW
28
|
| 600m |
W
35
|
W
38
|
NW
27
|
NW
22
|
NW
28
|
NW
28
|
NW
23
|
NW
20
|
| 300m |
W
14
|
W
16
|
NW
12
|
NW
9
|
NW
14
|
NW
13
|
NW
11
|
NW
8
|
| Valley |
W
12
|
W
14
|
NW
11
|
NW
9
|
NW
11
|
NW
11
|
NW
10
|
NW
9
|
Wind gust (mph)
Altitude above mean sea level
| 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900m | 55 | 60 | 44 | 38 | 45 | 45 | 40 | 34 |
| 600m | 46 | 50 | 37 | 30 | 38 | 38 | 31 | 27 |
| 300m | 41 | 43 | 32 | 26 | 34 | 34 | 28 | 22 |
| Valley | 38 | 42 | 31 | 25 | 31 | 31 | 27 | 24 |
Altitude above mean sea level
| 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900m |
-1°
|
0°
|
-1°
|
-1°
|
0°
|
0°
|
0°
|
-1°
|
| 600m |
1°
|
2°
|
2°
|
1°
|
2°
|
2°
|
2°
|
1°
|
| 300m |
4°
|
4°
|
4°
|
4°
|
5°
|
5°
|
4°
|
3°
|
| Valley |
6°
|
6°
|
6°
|
6°
|
7°
|
7°
|
7°
|
6°
|
| Freezing Level |
800m
|
800m
|
800m
|
900m
|
900m
|
1,000m
|
900m
|
800m
|
Altitude above mean sea level
| 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 900m |
-11°
|
-10°
|
-10°
|
-9°
|
-9°
|
-8°
|
-9°
|
-9°
|
| 600m |
-7°
|
-7°
|
-6°
|
-5°
|
-5°
|
-4°
|
-5°
|
-5°
|
| 300m |
-1°
|
-2°
|
0°
|
0°
|
0°
|
1°
|
1°
|
0°
|
| Valley |
3°
|
2°
|
3°
|
4°
|
4°
|
5°
|
4°
|
3°
|
Additional weather information
Weather
Cloudy overnight with frequent showers which occasionally merge to longer periods of rain, falling as snow above 600m. Tuesday will see occasional showers with weak sunshine increasing through the afternoon. The showers wintry over the highest tops.
Chance of cloud-free mountain/hill tops at 800m
20% overnight with bases broken or extensive from 450-600m, becoming during the morning 60% as clouds lift and break, to only sporadically lower across the summits thereafter, chiefly as the showers push through.
Ground conditions
No recent ground conditions report available.
Visibility
Initially generally moderate or poor, falling very poor in summit snow and hill fog, becoming mostly good or very during the morning.
Meteorologist's view
Cold and very windy over the tops with a severe wind chill.
Mountain weather information
Weather
Chance of fog or freezing fog patches forming around the foothills towards dawn, which soon clear. A bright and dry day for most with only a few light showers expected these wintry across highest summits. However, a small risk of a longer period of rain and snow spreading from the west during the evening.
Chance of cloud-free mountain/hill tops at 800m
80% with bases generally well broken near or above the summits, briefly lowering in the isolated showers, also should any longer periods of rain and summit snow spread from the west later in the day.
Maximum wind speed expected
Northwest backing South 10 to 20mph
Temperature
- At 800m Around Zero C
- Valley Minus 1C lifting 7C during the afternoon
- Freezing level 700m
Visibility
Generally very good.
Mountain weather information
Thursday 14 November
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Scattered showers, these wintry across higher summits and perhaps turning more frequent late in the day. Feeling cold in the brisk summit winds despite the plentiful weak wintry sunshine.
Friday 15 November
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Occasional showers, some may turn heavy, again wintry across higher peaks and cold in the fresh summit winds.
Saturday 16 November
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Mainly dry and bright, but some chance of rain spreading from west later in the day.
Updated at:
Summit specific forecast
Mountain summit forecast map
Key
Mountain summits
Other points of interest
Cluster of multiple stations
The Lake District covers an area of 885 square miles with its highest point, Scafell Pike, standing at 978 metres.
Scafell Pike is the highest mountain in England. From its summit, the view spans from the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland to Snowdonia in Wales. The Lake District also contains the deepest and longest lakes in England; Wastwater and Windermere.
Much smaller than its Scottish counterparts, but no less breathtaking, is the Lake District National Park. While unarguably most famous for the lakes and waters from which it took its name, the National Park certainly has plenty to offer climbers as well. Not only that, special routes have been created (known as Miles Without Stiles) to offer more laid back, moderate walks.
Those looking for a challenge are suitably catered for with the Lakeland Fells, as made famous by rambler and cartographer Alfred Wainwright. These include some of the highest peaks in England: Scafell Pike (978 metres), Scafell (965 metres), Helvellyn (951 metres) and Skiddaw (931 metres).