Weekend Weather Outlook

Weekend Weather 1st-2nd November 2003 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 - see link further down the page - for a selection of hill cams. And whatever you do, have a good one. New on the web is Nevisport's mountain weather forecast covering the main UK mountain areas, updated twice a day and giving both a general overview and a three-day outlook with useful stats like wind speed, freezing levels and both valley and summit temperatures. There's also a general UK forecast. Good to see a mountain specific forecast back at long last. Check the site for individual data. The Met Office outlook for Saturday - Looking good, showery start then becoming dry and bright pretty much everywhere. Temperatures between about 6 and C, wind fresh and from the east or north east. Sunday - Warmer than Saturday as winds swing round to the south and strengthen to become, well, windy really. Looks like showers in the southern half of the UK, cloudy with sunny spells elsewhere, odd thundery shower in western Scotland. New Mountain Forecasts New this week, excellent online forecasts covering the National Park areas of Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons. Good to see the Met Office covering mountain areas, though this appears to be an initiative of the Wales Tourist Board and the Met Office in Cardiff.

The BBC Weather site uses Met Office data, but is generally easier to follow. Streaming video weather forecasts also available on the site. Saturday Rather windy at first with rain in England early on but dying out by noon except in far eastern areas to leave most places dry with sunny spells. Showers on Scottish coast possible and becoming wet and windy in Northern Ireland later on. Sunday Quite nasty and unsettled with cloud and heavy rain spreading southeast everywhere but hanging around in souther east England. The sunny intervals with blustery showers with hail and thunder. Windy and gusty with gales. Mmmm.... Check BBC's specific areas: Fort William / Kendal / Betws-y-Coed / Aviemore / Skipton / Glossop (Peak) / Brecon / Milton Keynes. Saturday looks like the better day in most areas, though Peak and Dales look good both days. Saturday No words, just pictures of wetness in the south and sunny intervals elsewhere. Sunday rain and clouds, strong winds.

Wasdaleweb weather - daily reports updated before 10 am, a local forecast and a current pic - always worth a loook just for the piccy. - from OM member Guy Newbold who lives and works in Wasdale. Guy's just invented Wasdale Web and you should be directed there automatically from the link above. Looks like a dampish weekend with an 80 per-cent risk of precipitation both days, but probably just showers, so don't be too put off. The Wasdaleweb Webcam now has a flash new camera for higher quality images and they looks great. Scottish Avalanche Information Service - closed for the season, roll on next winter :-) And it is... Not long now. Though if there's really heavy early snow, the SAIS sometimes publishes a 'pre-season forecast'. Not yet though.

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. Ho hum... Saturday looking generally good. Sunday looking generally not so good... Verdict Startring to feel a bit more wintery, Saturday looks like being the better day in most areas with dryness and sunny spells forecast, Sunday gets windy, blustery, unsettled, rain etc, etc. Don't forget your waterproofs, it's going to feel cool on the tops in the wind. Craven 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.