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Weekend
Weather - February 4-5, 2012
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Our regular Friday round-up of what's in store for the weekend with a
quick summary of a selection of mountain and more general forecasts.
Bear in mind that they're just projections and depending on how things
pan out, the outlook may change over the weekend, so it's worth
checking specific forecasts before heading out.
This week's weather image is a
view of Nether Tor in the Peak by Jarshan Gill from
the OM Gallery.
About
Metcheck:
good overviews of localised
areas based predominately on a number of meteorological models. Loads
of options for stuff like rain forecasts plus offbeat,
leftfield weather generalisations. Get stuck in and have a browse,
there's a lot on this site.
You can check out individual
areas or dig a bit
deeper for the Mountain
Forecast
page or the Climbing
Forecast
page. The Seven-Day
Charts
give a handy overview
too.
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Forecast
'For the weekend and it's a complicated picture as that cloud and rain
in the west moves further east. As it runs into the cold air then the
rain is likely to turn to snow, especially over inland areas of
Scotland, England and Wales later on Saturday and into Sunday. There is
the potential for up to 5cm of snow to fall in places, and perhaps more
over higher ground, but exact details are still difficult to
determine.' |
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Mountain
Weather Information Service
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About
the Mountain Weather Information
Service:
great downloadable
mountain-specific forecasts for NW, W and SE Highlands, Cairngorms,
Southern Uplands, Peak District and Lakes in PDF format. Plus a
Snowdonia forecast. Scottish forecasts are seven days a week, the
Lakes are six days a week and the Peak/Dales and Snowdonia forecasts
are
now available all week.
Check individual forecasts for
specific details.
Arguably the best mountain-specific forecast out there by a way .
Production is now fully funded by the Scottish Government in the
interests of mountain safety with operating and development down to
commercial sponsorship.
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Forecasts
Saturday Winds getting up
generally, but increasing the further north you go, so Scottish hills
could end with gusts of up 70mph later on - that'll mean serious wind
chill with summit temperatures starting around -4˚C. Not quite as fresh
in the Lakes and North Wales but still the potetnial for gusts up to
55mph at times. Patchy snow developing everywhere, on western and
possibly eastern Scottish hills it may turn to rain later on, Lots of
cloud, the odd sunny spell and frozen terrain though north of the
border, it may thaw later on.
Sunday
Lighter winds - 20-30mph in the Highlands - patchy snow high up, rain
at lower levels, little if any sunshine and around freezing on the
tops., A fair bit of cloud on many hills though patchy sunshine in
Snowdonia.
Outlook
from Saturday: 'Milder conditions will percolate
southeastwards across all mountain areas on Saturday, initially
bringing snow to the mountains, before turning to rain. However, a thaw
on lower areas will be slow.
Mountain temperatures frequently near or above freezing point next
week. Broadly, little rainfall over England, Wales and eastern
Scotland, with cloud often shrouding only highest summits, and at times
lifting. Rain or occasionally snow on higher summits will be more
widespread in western Scotland. Intermittent upland gales across the
Scottish Highlands. '
Check specific forecasts for details as the weekend
progresses.
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About
BBC Weather:
Revamped for the summer, with easy access to a
lot more information including rain forecasts,
cloud, wind, temperature, visibility etc. Nice. Localised forecasts
accessible from the same page.
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Weekend
from iPlayer forecast: A weekend weather
battleground says the Beeb's forecasters, but after a dry, cold week,
things are likely to change in the West with NI and western Scotland
turning wet as moister, warmer air moves in from the Atlantic and
collides with the dense cold air. This'll cause snowfall as the cold,
denser air forces the warm air upwards, which means much of western
England, Scotland and Wales. It's all uncertain though, so there may be
lots or may not...
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Met Office
Mountain Forecasts
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About
the Met Office: The
giants of weather
forecasting in the UK, the Met Office also provides mountain
forecasts covering major UK mountain areas - east and west
Highlands, Lakes, Snowdonia, Dales, Peak and the Brecon
Beacons. Detailed forecasts for each day
are posted early
morning - 5 am - plus there's a short outlook section for the next
two days. Increasingly our favourite mountain forecast as MWIS becomes
more randomly pessimistic.
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Forecast
Saturday: Highlands starting cloudy and windy
with outbreaks of snow, heaviest to the west giving temporary blizzard
conditions and severe wind chill. Drier in the far North. Poor
visibility with gusts of wind up to 70-80mph leading to a danger of
being blown over. Around -3˚C up top and staying frozen in the glens
though temperatures will rise above freezing in the afternoon low down.
Lakes similar with heaviest snow the west, ditto, Snowdonia though with
slightly less savage winds.
Sunday: Generally starting
dry and bright then turning cloudy with outbreaks of snow, sleet or
rain depending on where and how high up you are, Snowdonia staying dry
for most of the day.
Check individual forecasts for details.
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Met Office
General Forecast
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Forecast
Saturday: 'Rain
in western areas spreading eastwards, turning to snow where it meets
the cold air across England, Wales and Scotland, with some significant
accumulations possible. Southeast England probably staying dry.'
Sunday to Tuesday: 'Snow
in the southeast dying out on Sunday, clearer and brighter elsewhere.
Thereafter, eastern areas mainly dry but rather cloudy, more unsettled
with rain and hill snow in the west.' |
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Weatherline
- Lake District
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 About
weatherline:
Funded
by the Lake District National Park Authority, the service combines a
five-day forecast from the Met Office in Manchester with firsthand
information from the fell top assessors' daily climb up Helvellyn. Also
available by phone on 0844 846 2444
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Forecast
The goods news is that an updated Weatherline site has allowed
sponsorship from local businesses which means the at risk fell top
assessment service will continue this winter.
Latest report from
Helvellyn (Thursday) Lots of snow up top with
cornice issues, loose unstable snow in many gullies and compacted steps
on hard snow and ice on the exists to Striding and Swirral. Full winter
clothing, axes and crampons essential. And of course fresh snow at the
weekend too. Today, Friday sounds like a cracker up high.
Definitely check back Friday/Saturday to see what conditions are doing.
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 About the Midge Forecast: Innovative midge
forecast covering the whole of Scotland and complete with interactive
map giving access to seven-day forecasts for main Scottish towns.
Midge-heads can also take advantage of extensive midge data which will
be updated each week.
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Forecast
It's still there, but levels are, not surprisingly, down to negligible
pretty much all over. Don't panic.
The forecast
is also available via a free iPhone app. |
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Scottish
Avalanche Information Service
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Forecast
The avalanche forecast is back for winter. The forecast
at the
time of writing is Moderate in all five areas, but with fresh snow on
the way things could change fast, so check back for the latest forecast
before heading out.
Snow conditions can change rapidly, so always check the latest
forecast before heading out and adjust your
plans accordingly.
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Snow, some
patchy sunshine, good and cold with frozen ground.
Serious winds
on Sunday could make movement high up somewhat iffy,
Friday looks like a cracker, but the weekend looks a tad messy with the
big story being a collision between dense, cold air from the east and
warm, moister air from the Atlantic which looks like triggering snow in
the west in particular, though no-one's quite sure how much. The
general consensus though is that the Highlands will cop blizzards on
Saturday, with the worst of it to the west, followed by a general
warming as the day goes on. Poor visibility generally and very high
winds up top, think gusts of up to 70-80mph which potentially could
knock you off your feet. Lots of wind chill too, so combined with
sub-zero summit temperatures, it'll feel brutally cold.
Sunday a little less savage, cloudy again with lighter winds and patchy
snow, rain or sleet depending on where and how high you happen to be.
Full winter clothing and equipment vital, check the lastest forecasts
before heading out.
Have a good one.
Obvious
Disclaimer Hey come on, we all know mountain weather's
unpredictable, and while the above forecasts and links are a guide to
what the weather may do, remember that mountain areas also tend to
generate their own conditions, temperatures are much cooler up top
than in the valleys and conditions can be totally different from down
in the valleys.
