Mountain weather
North Grampian Mountain weather forecast table
Confidence
High for cold, showery, windy conditions Monday night and Tuesday, then winds easing on Wednesday and Thursday. Lower confidence on day to day shower details.
This evening forecast
A cold and windy evening with clear spells and showers. The showers most frequent in north of the area with snow above about 900m. Fewer showers and longer clear spells further south over Creag Meadaigh and around Ben Alder.
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.
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
Bright spells. Showers, wintry on summits at first. Cold and windy.
| 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Weather (at 800m) |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Chance of precipitation (at 800m) |
40% | 40% | 40% | 40% | 40% | 30% | 30% | 30% |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300m |
NW
32
|
NW
34
|
NW
33
|
NW
34
|
NW
33
|
NW
30
|
N
30
|
N
24
|
| 900m |
W
23
|
W
24
|
W
25
|
NW
26
|
NW
26
|
NW
23
|
N
21
|
N
17
|
| 600m |
W
16
|
W
15
|
W
16
|
W
17
|
NW
17
|
NW
15
|
N
11
|
N
8
|
| 300m |
W
7
|
W
7
|
W
8
|
NW
11
|
NW
12
|
NW
9
|
N
7
|
N
5
|
| Glen |
W
3
|
NW
3
|
W
4
|
NW
6
|
NW
7
|
NW
6
|
N
4
|
NW
3
|
Wind gust (mph)
Altitude above mean sea level
| 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300m | 41 | 44 | 44 | 45 | 45 | 42 | 40 | 33 |
| 900m | 30 | 31 | 33 | 35 | 35 | 31 | 28 | 23 |
| 600m | 23 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 26 | 24 | 19 | 15 |
| 300m | 19 | 19 | 22 | 26 | 27 | 21 | 17 | 13 |
| Glen | 21 | 22 | 24 | 25 | 24 | 21 | 17 | 15 |
Altitude above mean sea level
| 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300m |
-3°
|
-3°
|
-3°
|
-2°
|
-1°
|
0°
|
-1°
|
-1°
|
| 900m |
0°
|
0°
|
0°
|
1°
|
2°
|
3°
|
2°
|
2°
|
| 600m |
3°
|
2°
|
2°
|
4°
|
5°
|
5°
|
5°
|
4°
|
| 300m |
5°
|
4°
|
5°
|
6°
|
8°
|
8°
|
7°
|
6°
|
| Glen |
4°
|
4°
|
4°
|
7°
|
9°
|
9°
|
8°
|
6°
|
| Freezing Level |
900m
|
900m
|
900m
|
1,100m
|
1,200m
|
1,200m
|
1,200m
|
1,200m
|
Altitude above mean sea level
| 00:00 | 03:00 | 06:00 | 09:00 | 12:00 | 15:00 | 18:00 | 21:00 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1300m |
-12°
|
-12°
|
-12°
|
-11°
|
-10°
|
-8°
|
-9°
|
-8°
|
| 900m |
-7°
|
-7°
|
-7°
|
-6°
|
-4°
|
-3°
|
-4°
|
-3°
|
| 600m |
-2°
|
-3°
|
-3°
|
-2°
|
0°
|
1°
|
1°
|
1°
|
| 300m |
2°
|
2°
|
2°
|
2°
|
4°
|
5°
|
5°
|
5°
|
| Glen |
3°
|
2°
|
2°
|
4°
|
6°
|
7°
|
6°
|
5°
|
Additional weather information
Met Office Aberdeen meteorologist's view
Feeling bitterly cold over higher ridges and summits with gale force winds and temperatures close to freezing.
Weather
A cold day with showers, wintry on the summits until the afternoon. The south of the area will continue to have the drier and brighter weather.
Chance of cloud-free hill tops
70%, best in southern parts of the area.
Low cloud and visibility
Very good visibility and some clouds about 700 to 800m, most extensive in north of the area. Visibility briefly reduced to poor at times in showers.
Mountain weather information
Weather
Some sunshine and further mostly light showers becoming overcast with widesprad showers from the evening.
Chance of cloud-free hill tops
60%, best in south of area.
Maximum wind speed expected
Strong northerly winds, average speeds 25 to 30 mph with gusts 40 mph over the peaks.
Temperature
- At 800m Plus 3 Celsius.
- Glen Plus 5 Celsius rising to 13 Celsius.
- Freezing level Above the summits.
Low cloud and visibility
Very good visibility and some clouds about 600 to 700m, most extensive in north of area. Brief reductions to poor visibility in showers.
Mountain weather information
Thu 29 Sep
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Sunny spells and still a few light showers, mainly in the morning. Light northeasterly winds on the tops.
Fri 30 Sep
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Dry, bright start then wet and windy weather spreading eastwards to all ranges during the day.
Sat 1 Oct
Sunrise:
Sunset:
Sunny spells with a few light showers. Strong westerly winds.
Updated at:
Summit specific forecast
Mountain summit forecast map
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Key
Mountain summits
Other points of interest
Cluster of multiple stations
Includes the northern and western Cairngorms National Park, Monadhliath, Ben Alder, Creag Meagaidh, Loch Ericht and Loch Rannoch.
The North Grampian mountain weather forecast area includes much of the Cairngorms National Park which boasts five of the UK's six highest mountains and includes the largest areas of land in the UK above 2000 and 3000 feet. The Cairngorm Plateau is well-known for its extreme and very changeable weather (the strongest gust ever recorded in the UK was 173mph on Cairngorm Summit on 20th March 1986). Despite the challenging conditions, there is a diverse range of wildlife in the area including golden eagles, snow bunting and ptarmigan.
Creag Meagaidh, to the north of Glen Spean, is where the east Highlands meet the west Highlands and is often exposed to bad weather from either direction. It is a popular area for ice climbing thanks to its vast plateau which includes five Munros (Scottish mountains over 3000 feet).
Ben Alder lies just to the west of Loch Ericht and is one of the remotest of the Munros. Approaches are long from all directions with options including a long walk or cycle from Dalwhinnie to the northeast or by taking a train to the very remote Corrour Station and walking in from the southwest.
For snow and avalanche hazard forecasts please visit Scottish Avalanche Information Service