Walter turns her back on Wales to find sunny-ish fells in the Lakes and Scotland...
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Weekend
Weather - 8-9 November, 2008
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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.
About
Metcheck:
good overviews of localised
areas based predominately 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.
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
'Another North Atlantic depression arrives to end the week bringing a return to wet and windy conditions for all parts, but especially Northern regions of the British Isles.'
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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 and Snowdonia forecasts are
available three days, from Thursday through to Saturday.
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 Wet and windy in Snowdonia, where the worst of the weather will be, but plenty of sunny spells elsewhere and pretty good visibility except during occasional showers. Showers could fall as snow on the higher fells in Scotland. Conditions could be blustery first thing in the morning in some parts of Scotland and Wales.
Sunday Clearer than Saturday for most of the day with a good chance of cloud-free summits and little wind. Another front looks to be arriving towards the evening, although the rain may not hit before close of play.
Check specific forecasts for details as the weekend
progresses.
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About
BBC Weather:
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.
BBC specific areas:
Fort
William / Kendal
/ Betws-y-Coed
/ Aviemore
/ Skipton
/ Glossop
(Peak) / Brecon
/ Milton
Keynes.
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Forecast
Saturday: 'Scotland, Northern Ireland and much of Northern England should become dry with sunny spells and a chilly northwesterly wind. Wales and the rest of England cloudy and breezy with the chance of rain. '
Sunday: 'Most places starting dry, with the best of any sunshine across Scotland and Northern England. Freshening winds will bring rain to Northern Ireland and later northwest England and Western Scotland.'
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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 five major UK mountain areas: Scottish
West Highlands / Scottish
East Highlands / Lake
District / Snowdonia
National Park / Brecon
Beacons National Park.
Detailed forecasts for each day
are posted early
morning - 5 am - plus there's a short outlook section for the next
two days.
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Forecast
A mix of showers and sunny spells for much of the north of England and Scotland, with moderate visibility, except for Wales where the weather will mostly be wet and overcast. Sunday should begin brightly in most places but showers will become heavier and more prolonged in the afternoon.
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Met Office
General Forecast
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Forecast
Saturday to Monday:'Generally cloudy, windy, mild and unsettled with rain at times, some heavy, especially Monday. Northern areas turning clearer and cooler for a time on Saturday and Sunday.'
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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 0870 055 0575.
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Forecast
Felltop assessments are over for the season, but the page still carries
the Met Office Lake District mountain forecast for the next five days.
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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
The midge forecast is over for the season and will return in May 2009
along with the wee biting midgies.
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Scottish
Avalanche Information Service
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Forecast
'The first daily Avalanche Report for the five observed areas of
Scotland will be published on the following dates: 16th December 2008
for North Cairngorm and Lochaber 22nd December 2009 for South
Cairngorm, Glencoe and Creag Meagaidh.'
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About
Web Cams:
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. Recently overhauled so most cameras
featured are actually working :-) If you find one isn't or have a new
addition we should know about, please let us know.
Occasional
bright spells, dryish on Saturday afternoon, not raining all the time.
Snow?
Windy,
wet at times, poor visibility in rain and snow, cold on the tops.
If you’re fed up of being kept inside by the weather, this weekend looks like it could be a goer unless you’re in North Wales, where the best option is to do the DIY or buy a good book.
Elsewhere, conditions look worth venturing out in, with plenty of sunny spells between the showers and a decent chance of being able to spy the rare sight of the summit of Helvellyn or Nevis for much of the day.
Sunday morning looks like it could bring the best weather everywhere, with conditions getting less appetizing towards the evening, so set the alarm early (yes, even though it’s the weekend) and aim to hit the pub well before close of play.
Wherever you go, 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.
