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Weekend
Weather - February 11-12, 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 an
atmospheric Brecon camping shot by Muttley 109 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
'Saturday starts off fine and cold in the south and east with many
places then seeing another generally dry and bright day. Once more it
will be cloudier and milder over Scotland and Ireland with some patchy
light rain and drizzle around and by the time we reach Sunday this
cloud will spread south with even south-eastern areas beginning to turn
less cold.' |
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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 Scotland gets light winds,
mostly dry with good visibility and even some sunny spells with
temperatures on the tops around freezing or just below. Cloudier, maybe
with the odd bit of drizzle in the Lakses, 1˚C up top, ditto Snowdonia.
Little difference in temperature between tops and valleys with mostly
frozen terrain at all levels south of the border.
Sunday
Winds getting up, 40mph with gusts to 55mph or more in the
highlands, but mostly dry with the odd glimpse of sunshine. Broadly
similar further south.
Outlook
from Sunday: 'Extensively misty and foggy across many
areas on Sunday, although some lifting of cloud base from the
north.
'Upland northwesterly gales early next week,
particularly on the Scottish Highlands. These will bring pulses of
rather colder, drier air southwards, with a few snow showers on mainly
northern mountains.
'Turning milder again later next week, with rain
intermittently, mainly western mountains. Perhaps turning colder from
the north around Friday with threat of heavier snow showers at the
weekend.'
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: Sharp frost overnight today,
Friday particularly where there's snow cover and clear skies. Less cold
further west. Saturday, mild air to NW, colder air further south. Grey
cold day across Northern England. Sunday, still plenty of cloud, but a
little less cold.
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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: The Met Office reckons on a cloudy
day in the Highlands with patchy rain at times with hill fog and
temperatures at 900m as high as 3˚C with freezing levels above the
summits and light winds. Dry and bright in the Lakes, though again with
some hill fog and forecast to be -2˚C on the tops. Veryt cold but dry
in North Wales, think -2˚C on the tops again.
Sunday: Generally cloudy
with maybe hill fog and some precipitation falling as patchy rain in
Scotland or sleet and snow in the Lakes and Snowdonia,
Check individual forecasts for details.
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Met Office
General Forecast
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Forecast
Saturday: 'A
good deal of cloud across northern areas, with occasional rain or
drizzle, especially across western Scotland. Dry and bright further
south, but staying very cold.'
Sunday to Tuesday: 'Briefly
a little milder across England and Wales, as easterly winds abate.
Widely becoming colder again by Tuesday, with strong northerly winds
developing, and with wintry showers in the east.' |
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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) Treacherous road conditions
mean that the fell top assessor couldn't reach the mountain.
Wednesday's report is for full winter conditions on Striding and
Swirral and a Thursday thaw followed by a re-freeze may well make for
very icy conditions. Full winter clothing and equipment essential.
Definitely check back Friday/Saturday for a more up to date report. |
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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 Considerable in the two Cairngorm areas and Moderate
elsewhere. Warmer, moist conditions may destabilise the snowpack so
check back 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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Mostly dry,
some sunshine, light winds on Saturday, frozen terrain in many areas.
Windier on
Sunday, hill fog about, frozen terrain in many areas.
For once MWIS and the Met Office Mountain Forecasts don't quite agree.
The Met Office has temperatures up top a bit above freezing while MWIS
reckons it'll be zero or below - one to keep an eye on we reckon.
Otherwise it looks like a mostly dry, though often cloudy weekend with
light winds on the Saturday and sub-zero temperatures high up in the
Lakes and North Wales.
If you believe MWIS, Scottish hills are set to get good and windy on
Sunday with gusts around 60mph on the Cairngorm plateau. Whatever the
reality, you'll be needing full winter clothing and equipment if you're
heading up high. 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.
