Weekend Weather Outlook

Weekend Weather 18th-19th September '04 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. Metcheck for good overviews as well as a mountain forecast that allows you to select indidual peaks throughout the UK with a 72-hour graphic summary of conditions hour by hour plus a load of other interesting stuff. According to the funky weather devotees at Metcheck, there's a classic Ana cold frontal system heading our way and it's as bad as it sounds being a nasty, intense sort of front heralding temperature drops and heavy rainfall. Irritatingly it seems set to arrive for the weekend. Oh well, that's what waterproofs were invented for... Here comes a wet Saturday. Geoff Monk and Associates has a great downloadable mountain-specific forecast for Eastern and Western Highlands, Peak District and Lakes in PDF format. Plus a new Snowdonia forecast. They need sponsorship if the forecasts are to continue though. Saturday south of the border starts off with some proper rain gradually clearing up while Sunday looks drier with sunny spells, temperatures not too bad. Scotland gets squally showers on Sunday after a similarly rainy Saturday, but colder high up with freezing levels not far above the summits. Nevisport's mountain weather forecast covers the main UK mountain areas, updated twice a day and gives both a general overview and a three-day outlook with useful stats like wind speed, freezing levels and both valley and summit temperatures. Met Office outlook for Saturday Windy with shoers and heavier outbreaks of rain. Sunday drier south of the border, Scotland gets more rain though. For localised five-day forecasts use this page. Welsh Mountain Forecasts Excellent online forecasts covering the National Park areas of Snowdonia - and the Brecon Beacons.

BBC Weather Site Saturday Scotland and Northern Ireland kick off very wet and windy then getting brighter and more showery. England and Wales breezy with some rain and showers, heavy in places, plus some sunshine at times. Sunday Scotland and NI windy with blustery showers especially in northern and western bits, then steady rain. Firther south sunshine at times with showers especially in N Wales and northern England. BBC specific areas: Fort William / Kendal / Betws-y-Coed / Aviemore / Skipton / Glossop (Peak) / Brecon / Milton Keynes.

Wasdaleweb weather - Always worth a loook just for the piccy from OM member Guy Newbold who lives and works in Wasdale. See also the live webcam pics of Scafell Pike and Great Gable. The Wasdaleweb Webcam now has a flash new camera for higher quality images and they looks great plus there's now a new Scafell Pike web cam. Scottish Avalanche Information Service - The good old Avalanche Information Service has gone into hibernation for the summer now that winter's over, the birds are singing, spring is - allegedly - in the air and all that palaver. Can rain or midges avalanche? Nope...

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... It won't rain all the time... ... but it will be quite wet. Verdict Pesky low pressure front thing bringing rain and showers for most of the weekend - is there a difference between rain and showers, eh? - south of the Scottish border, Sunday looks like being the better day, but there's a possibility of showers right across the weekend, so don't forget to pack your waterproofs / poncho / umbrella etc. Rain? What the heck, that's why we invented waterproof jackets. 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.