Weekend Mountain Weather Outlook |  |  |
|
Weekend Weather
10-11 March, 2007
|
Fact of the Week!
Not including wind-driven rain, raindrops fall between 7 and 18 miles per hour (3 and 8 meters per second) in still air. The range in speed depends on the the size of the raindrop.
|
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.
|
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: 'Anywhere south of a line from approximately South Wales to Birmingham to the Wash will see a very good weekend indeed, mostly dry, and with some good bright or sunny spells. By Sunday, maximum temperatures could be approaching 16C - the warmest day of the year so far.
'Across Scotland, Ireland and eventually Northern England a markedly different weekend is on the cards. Low cloud and hill fog will be quite extensive. Strong to possible gale force winds are also expected across Northwestern parts of the UK throughout 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.
|
|
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. Best mountain
weather forecast we know of.
Forecast: Poor visibility, persistent rainfall, and strong gusts of wind will persist across Northern England, Northern Wales, and Scotland for much of the weekend. Further south, Saturday could still be rather overcast but the skies will clear as the weekend progresses, with temperatures rising considerably on Sunday.
Check individual forecasts for specific
details. Arguably the best mountain-specific forecast out
there by a way.
|
|
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.
If you want video, check out the BBC
WEATHER
PLAYER with a
selection of forecasts. They say a cloudy start on Saturday,
brightening later on. Plus lots of grey skies on
Sunday.
Saturday: 'Wet and windy for N Ireland, Scotland, N England and Wales. Elsewhere it should be dry with some bright spells, the best of the sunshine the further south and east you go.'
Sunday: 'Another windy day for Scotland and N Ireland but brighter than Saturday. Wet and windy for N England and Wales. Elsewhere some dry and brighter spells, sunniest in southeast England.'
BBC specific areas:
Fort
William / Kendal
/ Betws-y-Coed
/ Aviemore
/ Skipton
/ Glossop
(Peak) / Brecon
/ Milton
Keynes.
|
|
Met
Office . See weather for
the next
week.
Saturday: 'Windy with rain and drizzle across Scotland spreading to Northern Ireland and northern England. Most other places should be dry and mild with long sunny periods.'
Sunday to Tuesday:
'Rain over Scotland and Northern Ireland moving slowly southeast and becoming light and patchy by the time it reaches southeast England late Monday. Sunshine and showers following.'
Welsh Mountain Forecasts Useful
online forecasts covering the National Park areas of
Snowdonia
- and the Brecon
Beacons.
|
|
Scottish
Avalanche Information Service
- Daily avalanche forecasts are back for Lochaber and the
northern Gorms.
Friday's forecast: Considerable risk of avalanches (category 3) particularly on northern and eastern slopes owing to weakly-bonded windslab. Collapsing cornices, powder avalanches, and slab avalanches, as the rainfall turns to snow, are all possible hazards.
|
|
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 ;-)
|
Sunshine further south; some of the warmest weather this year.
Persistent rain and wind in northern areas.
Verdict It's all about latitude this weekend. Head North and you're in for a drenching; stay further south and some early clouds should soon blow over to leave the warmest weekend of the year. So, if you're going cragging in the Peaks, it's all sounding well and good, but if you've set your sights on a long hike in Scotland, the Lakes, or Snowdonia, you might not see all that much (and that's assuming you don't get blown over).
Basically, head south for the best weather. And those of you who are still wondering where winter's got to, we're sorry to announce that summer now looks to be on its way!
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.
|
| | Want to send this article to a friend? Please join here | | |
| | Comment on this in our forum: |
| | Related articles:
 | Gore's New Fabric - Scoop!
Scoop look at the new lighter, tougher, smoother and more breathable Gore-Tex.
| |  | Montane Women's Extreme Smock Reviewed
Some more Montane cold weather gear for the gals ...
| |  | Rab Neutrino Endurance Women's Jacket Reviewed
As snow reaches even the sub-tropical counties of southern England, it's time to start thinking insulation, and where better to start than with a Rab down jacket?
| |  | Silkbody Long Sleeved Crew and Leg Liner Reviewed
Silkbody is a newcomer to the UK, producing combined silk and Merino wool baselayers. Sounds like a good idea, but how did they shape up in practice?
| |  | Winter Looking Wonky :-(
Anyone hoping for cold, crisp, snowy conditions this winter may be in for a bit of a wait if the weather forecasters are correct. Things look damp and mild at least until mid-January.
| |  | Buyers' Guide - Insulated Clothing
When the going gets gnarly, the gnarly get insulated, but should you be going for down or synthetic fillings and what other features should you be looking at come buying time?
| |  | The North Face Diad Jacket - First Look
Our first impressions of the impressively lightweight Diad waterproof, breathable shell jacket which tips the scales at just over 200 grammes and fits into a pint mug...
| |  | Montane Dynamo Jacket Tested
We check out Montane's new Pertex Stretch Equilibrium soft shell jacket with its promised balance of excellent wicking and breathability and weather protection.
| |  | Paramo Alta II Jacket Tested
We take a look at Paramo's Alta 2 mountain-walking jacket with its directional fabrics and some interesting venting features.
| | | TNF Announces Stupidly Light Waterproof
Losing weight is all the rage with The North Face launching what they claim is probably the world's lightest fully waterproof shell jacket awash with funky new technology.
| |  | Montane Super-Fly XT Tested
We check out Montane's all-round, eVENT mountain jacket complete with helmet hood, lots of pockets and all the other mod cons you could possibly ask for.
| |  | Survive The Snow!
Top tips from our man Gear, Richard Gear, to help you get yourself sorted for all this lovely snowy weather. Mine's a pint of hot tomato soup...
| |
| |
|
Offers, Competitions and Promotions
|
