Weekend Mountain Weather Outlook

Weekend Weather 17-18 March, 2007

Fact of the Week! The lowest recorded temperature in the world (without windchill) was -89.6°C at Vostok Station, Antarctica, on 21 July 1983.

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: 'Saturday will see cloud, wind and rain across all Northern parts of the country. Some bright or sunny spells are possible across the South but even here, cloud will increase later in the day. Once again it will be very mild. 'Saturday night is when the change in the weather will begin to take place. Colder air will begin to filter quickly South across the UK with the potential for blizzard conditions across the high ground of Scotland on Sunday. Snow is expected to accumulate above 250 to 300m initially, but possibly to lower levels later in the day. Wind-chill will be marked with temperatures struggling between 5ºC and 8ºC across the country.' 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: A mild but drizzly Saturday further south with heavier rain in Scotland. Temperatures will plummet on Sunday in all areas, with heavy snowfall across northern England, Snowdonia, and Scotland, with severe wind chill, and white-out conditions further north. 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 much of Scotland and Northern Ireland for much of the day. Rain may also affect northern England at times. Further south, it will be breezy and mainly dry with some sunny intervals.' Sunday: 'A much colder day as the winds turn into the northwest. Rain clearing the south then sunshine and showers following, turning increasingly wintry over northern hills with accumulations of snow in the Scottish mountains.' 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: 'Mostly dry and warm with sunny spells. Cloud and outbreaks of rain are expected over northeast Scotland initially, then across western Scotland and N.Ireland through the day. Rather windy.' Sunday to Tuesday: 'Mostly rather cold and windy with sunny spells and showers, wintry in the north, on Sunday. Monday and Tuesday will be cold and windy with sunny spells and wintry showers.' 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) in all upland areas of Scotland due to weakly bonded windslab. Hazards will be greatest on slopes from north east through to south east.

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 ;-)

Southern sunshine on Saturday.
Poor visibility and blizzard conditions on Sunday.

Verdict The seasons are playing pick 'n' mix this weekend, with a spot of Spring in southern areas on Saturday, followed by a wintry blast all over the country on Sunday. Showers will be of the snowy variety, with white-out conditions in parts of Scotland, and temperatures will plummet even before you take into account the wind chill factor. Good insulation and navigation are a must - that's unless you decide a good book in front of a warm fire is the best option after all:-)