Weekend Mountain Weather Outlook
With winds gusting up to a possible 100mph and heavy rain, movement on the tops may well be 'impossible' on Sunday. We check out the prospects for the weekend's weather in the hills.
Posted: 8 December 2006
by Walter the Weather Girl
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Weekend Weather
9/10 December '06
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Fact of the Week!
The world's largest snowflake was 38 cm wide and
20 cm thick.It fell on Fort Keogh, Montana, USA on 28
January 1887.
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Our regular Friday round-up of what's
in store for the weekend. Just check the links for the relevant
weather forecasts and if you want to know how things look in a
particular area right now, check out the OM
web cams page for a selection of hill
cams. And whatever you do, have a good one.
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Metcheck
for good overviews of localised areas based on a number
of meteorological models. Loads of quirky 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.
They say: 'Into the weekend and
yet again, another active area of low pressure exerts its
influence over the UK bringing further strong winds and more
rain. '
Don't expect the relative calm of Friday
to last, more rain and wind on the way :-(
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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Mountain
Weather Information
Service has 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. The Peak and
Snowdonia forecasts are now restricted to weekend forecasts
and go out on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Best mountain
weather forecast we know of.
They say: 'Conditions will be
impossible in terms of mobility on higher areas; very
ferocious gusts. Severe wind chill. '
So, Sunday not looking too good then
thanks to winds gusting up to 100 mph and heavy rain.
Saturday windy, but not quite as extreme with snow showers
and temperatures on the tops around freezing, but feeling
colder thanks to the severe wind chill.
Check individual forecasts, but
Saturday looks the better day, while Sunday seems like a
good one to stay home and do some knitting in front of the
fire.
Check individual forecasts for specific
details. Arguably the best mountain-specific forecast out
there by a way.
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BBC
Weather Site uses Met
Office data, but more user friendly. Just been revamped for
the summer, weird stuff but easy access to a lot more
information including rain forecasts, cloud, wind,
temperature, visibility etc. Nice. Localised forecasts
accessible from the same page.
If you want video, check out the BBC
WEATHER
PLAYER with a
selection of forecasts. They say a cloudy start on Saturday,
brightening later on. Plus lots of grey skies on
Sunday.
Saturday 'A day of sunny spells
for many parts, the best in the east. Scattered showers will
affect western UK, turning wintry over high ground in the
north. Feeling cooler than of late.'
Sunday 'Wet and very windy
weather, with a risk of gales, spreading to Scotland, N
Ireland, Wales and SW England during the morning, then the
remainder of the UK during the afternoon. Flooding is
possible in northwest Scotland.'
BBC specific areas:
Fort
William / Kendal
/ Betws-y-Coed
/ Aviemore
/ Skipton
/ Glossop
(Peak) / Brecon
/ Milton
Keynes.
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Met
Office . See weather for
the next
week.
Saturday 'A brisk, chilly
northwest breeze will continue to bring showers to exposed
coastal areas, a few also into the Midlands, However, many
parts will be dry and sunny..'
Sunday
'Sunday, wet and windy after a bright start
for many.'
Welsh Mountain Forecasts Useful
online forecasts covering the National Park areas of
Snowdonia
- and the Brecon
Beacons.
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Scottish
Avalanche Information Service
- Daily avalanche forecasts back soon starting 15 December
for North Cairngorm and Lochaber and 22 December for the
other main Scottish climbing areas covered.
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OUTDOORSmagic
web cam page Links to all the UK
mountain web cams we're aware of. If there's one that we've
missed, please drop
us a line and we'll add it to the
page. Good for getting a general idea of what the snow
situation's like, if the sun is shining, whether there's
anywhere to park in Coniston etc. Check the image you're
viewing is up to date as they often seem to go down.
We'll overhaul this page shortly as some of the links
aren't functioning or the cameras have disappeared - nicked?
You have to hope not ;-)
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Sunny spells on Saturday.
Wind on Sunday may gust to 100 mph.
Verdict Saturday looks blowy but manageable
with snow showers interspersed with possible sunny spells in most
mountain areas and temperatures around freezing on the tops. The it
all goes horribly wrong on Sunday with winds gusting up to 100 mph
making movement on the tops likely impossible according to the MWIS.
Heavy rain as well and even though temperatures are likely to be
milder than Saturday, the wind will make things feel bitingly cold. A
good day to put your feet up in front of the fire we reckon or go for
a low level run instead.
Have a great weekend :-)
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.
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