How do I find the Mountaineering and Hillwalking weather forecast?
Building a picture of the mountain weather conditions prior to your winter hillwalking day is a key skill in planning and deciding on route choice. Thankfully there are some great services out there to help with this important process. Here are some of the best:
This is an invaluable service for the winter hillwalker and mountaineer. This provides a detailed 3 day forecast at 900m specifically for those in the mountains.
The areas covered are broken down into: the Northwest Highlands, West Highlands, Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath, Southeastern Highlands and the Southern Uplands.
The forecast covers a detailed description as set out below. Each one of these items can be used to build a picture, and help create a well-informed plan for the day.
- How Windy?
- Effect Of The Wind On You?
- How Wet?
- Cloud On The Hills?
- Chance Of Cloud Free Munros?
- Sunshine And Air Clarity?
- How Cold?
- Freezing Level
You can also access the Scottish Avalanche Information Service from this site. Understanding avalanche risk, and the conditions which cause avalanches should inform your planning and route choice.
To get a hands-on view of the conditions there are also webcams available, these can be seen on the Mountain Weather Information Service here: MWIS WEBCAMS
The various Scottish ski resorts also have webcams, and these are worth looking at as you build a picture of the weather conditions prior to your winter hillwalking day.
Glen Coe is one of Scotland’s most popular mountaineering and hillwalking destinations, and you can see the webcam for Glen Coe Mountain here: Glen Coe Mountain Webcam
