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Weekend Weather
12th -13th August '06
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Fact of the Week!
The odds of being struck by lightning
are approximately
1 in 800,000
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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: 'The low pressure
area which has been responsible for the cooler and fresher
weather for all areas is now slipping slowly into the North
Sea, however it hasn't given up the fight just yet.
'During today, the rain associated
with the low will push South-west into many parts of
North-eastern England and East Anglia before manoeuvring
itself towards the centre of the country in time for the
weekend.'
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. Worth wading
through the increasingly cluttered lay-out.
They say: A bit of wind, with some
buffeting high up, risk of showers in many areas and feeling
cool up top for the time of year with summit temperatures
around 8-10C in the Highlands. Visibility looks good in most
areas, the main risk to a happy weekend is the possibiliy of
rain spreading into the middle of the country - watch out
Peak District - on Sunday. Saturday looking the better day
in most areas.
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.
Saturday 'East Anglia and
southeast England will be cool, cloudy and wet, with a brisk
wind. Elsewhere, there will be variable amounts of cloud,
with the best of any sunshine towards western
areas.'
Sunday 'Much of England will be
cloudy and grey, with outbreaks of rain at times. Scotland,
Northern Ireland, Wales and southwest England will have the
best of any dry and bright conditions.'
BBC specific areas:
Fort
William / Kendal
/ Betws-y-Coed
/ Aviemore
/ Skipton
/ Glossop
(Peak) / Brecon
/ Milton
Keynes.
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Met
Office For localised
five-day forecasts use this
page. See weather for the
next
week.
Saturday 'Heavy showers affecting
eastern England. Mainly dry elsewhere.'
Sunday Again best in the
west.
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
- The last daily avalanche forecast for the season has been
and gone. In the winter there are avalanche and climbing
condition reports for five major Scottish climbing areas -
Lochaber, northern and southern Cairngorms, Glencoe and
Creag Meagaidh. But we don't want to think about that for a
while yet ...
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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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Mild and sometimes sunny.
You can expect rain or showers in most areas at some point and
windiness too.
Verdict It's looking best in the west
according to most forecasters with the south east copping wet cloudy
weather on Saturday, but the remainder of the UK staying mostly dry
albeit with a good helping of gusty wind and summit temperatures that
are low for the time of year. On Sunday there's a risk of rain coming
from the east and the Peak may get persistently wet if things go
badly. Shell clothing advisable plus bear in mind that while it will
be mild in the valleys, it will be cool higher up, particularly when
stopped, so pack some lightweight insulation.
As ever, check indiviual forecasts - particularly
the MWIS where applicable - for specific area and 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.
