|
|
Weekend
Weather - January 8/9th, 2010
|
|
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.
This week's weather image is a
atmospheric shot of snow drifting against a wall in Kentmere from
the OM
Gallery by John2, who also lands a bonus of 500
extra KEEN Mountain Marathon points.
About
Metcheck:
good overviews of localised
areas based predominately 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.
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.
|
Forecast
'Saturday will start off damp in many areas, with a risk of further
snow over eastern Scotland, but many areas will turn drier and brighter
from the west as we go through the day. Further showers will come into
parts of the north and west, and these could be wintry at times with
temperatures remaining on the chilly side. Sunday is set to be the best
day of the weekend with many places seeing a fine and chilly day apart
from the odd shower towards the north.' |
|
Mountain
Weather Information Service
|
About
the Mountain Weather Information
Service:
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. Scottish forecasts are seven days a week, the
Lakes are six days a week and the Peak/Dales and Snowdonia forecasts
are
now available all week.
Check individual forecasts for
specific details.
Arguably the best mountain-specific forecast out there by a way .
Production is now fully funded by the Scottish Government in the
interests of mountain safety with operating and development down to
commercial sponsorship.
|
Forecasts
Saturday Windy-ish pretty
much everywhere with gusts up to 50mph on the tops making for
'considerable buffeting'. Risk of snow showers in many areas, por
visibility in the snow, but clear otherwise, bursts of sunshine
occasionally. Sub-zero temperatures on the tops.
Sunday
Windy again south of the border where the Lake District and North Wales
may have gusts up to 60mph for a time, snow and hail showers and
intermittent blizzards too with temps up top around -2 to -3˚C. Calmer
on Scottish hills with winds around 25mph, just the odd snow shower,
intermittent sunshine and often cloud-free summits, around -5˚C on the
tops.
Outlook
'With an area of low pressure close to eastern Britain on Saturday,
areas of snow on eastern mountains will only slowly clear. Elsewhere,
snow showers. Windy at least across England and Wales. Still blustery
with snow showers (western hills on Sunday).
'The weather pattern will change next week. Bands of
rain and showers, focussed on western mountains, will come in off the
Atlantic. Overall there will be substantial thaw, with only higher
Scottish summits maintaining a series of freeze-thaw cycles. '
Check specific forecasts for details as the weekend
progresses.
|
About
BBC Weather:
Revamped for the summer, with 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.
BBC specific areas:
Fort
William / Kendal
/ Betws-y-Coed
/ Aviemore
/ Skipton
/ Glossop
(Peak) / Brecon
/ Milton
Keynes.
|
Forecast The
Beeb's gone all pictorial, so no
text forecast for the UK, leastways not one we can find. Oooh, hang on,
righthand side under 'Summary', same as the Met Office summary - see
below. Detailed
local forecasts on web.
Weekend
from iPlayer forecast: Further heavy snow in parts
of Scotland and north of England, lying snow from today. Snow showers
easing off over the day, but more moving into western Scotland. Weather
generally improving, Sunday a pleasant sunny day.
|
|
Met Office
Mountain Forecasts
|
About
the Met Office: The
giants of weather
forecasting in the UK, the Met Office also provides mountain
forecasts covering major UK mountain areas - east and west
Highlands, Lakes, Snowdonia, Dales - just added - Peak and the Brecon
Beacons. Detailed forecasts for each day
are posted early
morning - 5 am - plus there's a short outlook section for the next
two days.
|
Forecast
Saturday: Snow showers, some heavy, generally
good visibility apart from in the snow, gusting winds high up and
sub-zero temperatures on the summits.
Sunday: Brighter day with sunny
spells in many hill areas, but feeling cold thanks to wind and with the
odd snow shower.
Check individual forecasts for details.
|
|
Met Office
General Forecast
|
|
Forecast
Saturday: 'Most
places becoming dry through the day with some sunshine. Outbreaks of
snow continuing over parts of Scotland though, with occasional
sleet/snow for Northern Ireland and northern England too. Windy.'
Sunday to Tuesday: 'Sunday,
most places dry and cold with some sunshine. Turning wetter and windier
thereafter with temperatures becoming slightly above normal in the
south, but staying rather cold further north.' |
|
Weatherline
- Lake District
|
|
 About
weatherline:
Funded
by the Lake District National Park Authority, the service combines a
five-day forecast from the Met Office in Manchester with firsthand
information from the fell top assessors' daily climb up Helvellyn. Also
available by phone on 0844 846 2444
|
|
Forecast
Felltop assessments are back alongside the detailed local hill forecast
from the Met Office. Friday's report is for fresh wet snow having
fallen at all levels, opnly settled above 400m, slow going in drifts,
Striding and Swirral Edges in full winter condition. Unstable snow pack
and cornices on eastern-facing slopes. Full winter kit and
clothing needed.
|
|
 About the Midge Forecast: Innovative midge
forecast covering the whole of Scotland and complete with interactive
map giving access to seven-day forecasts for main Scottish towns.
Midge-heads can also take advantage of extensive midge data which will
be updated each week.
|
|
Forecast
Back next year.
The forecast
is also available on YouTube
though not for 2010 at the moment, good if you want to know how things
were last August though. There's also now a free iPhone app. |
|
Scottish
Avalanche Information Service
|
|
Forecast
Weekend forecasts are back for all five areas covered by the forecast.
Hazard is 'considerable' in most areas on higher, east-facing slopes
due to poorly bonded windslab - check latest forecasts before heading
out.
|
About
Web Cams:
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. Recently overhauled so most cameras
featured are actually working :-) If you find one isn't or have a new
addition we should know about, please let us know.
Good
visibility, Sunday calmer and generally better.
Windy on
Saturday, poor visibility in snow.
Looks like 2011's starting with a proper winter weekend in the hills.
Many will be getting a dump of fresh snow today, Friday, with more snow
showers and gusty winds due on Saturday and freezing temperatures on
the tops. Generally forecast is for visibility to be good outside of
the snow and there may even be bursts of bright sunshine too.
Most forecasters seem to think that Sunday will be a generally calmer,
drier day, but you can still expect some isolated snow showers. Windy
in North Wales according to MWIS, but generally Sunday looks like being
the better day.
Full winter kit and clothing essential. Bear in mind that the SAIS
avalanche forecasts today, Friday, are for 'considerable' avalanche
hazards and, with fresh snow falling and drifiting, it's worth keeping
an eye on conditions. The fell-top assessment from Helvellyn is
similarly for an poorly-bonded snowpack, so be careful out there 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.
