[Andy Mayhew]

Mountain Forecast – Issued Thursday 1st December

Colder, windy, snow for northern hills

General Situation:

An unsettled weekend with low pressure to the north/northeast of Scotland and a strong Azores high to the SW of the British Isles. Rain for all parts with a frontal system working south early on Saturday followed by frequent showers on a strong westerly wind. These showers turning increasingly wintry to lower levels as the weekend progresses.

The Weekend in Detail:

Saturday 3rd December - A spell of fairly heavy rain working south and east overnight and clearing most upland areas by daybreak, though likely to persist with hill fog over the SW Moors through much of the day. Thereafter a cool, breezy day with some heavy, blustery showers across Scotland and Northern England, especially in the west, and later into Snowdonia. The Peak District perhaps staying mainly dry and bright though. Showers turning wintry down to around 1,500ft in the Highlands and also over the higher summits of the Lake District. More showers overnight will see the snow level start to creep down. Gales over summits with a noticeable windchill and bizzards during snow showers.

Sunday 4th December - Another cool, breezy day with some sunny spells but also a fair few heavy showers developing, these becoming increasingly wintry across Scotland, Northern England and Northern Ireland, with a risk of snow to low levels in the Highlands by evening and to around 1500ft in Northern England. Maybe some snow for the higher tops of Snowdonia and the Brecon Beacons as well with the freezing level here nearer to 3,000ft. More eastern hills seeing the best of the brighter spells. Hill fog may again persist over the SW Moors, with some heavier rain likely in the afternoon, possibly spreading into Wales. Once again winds will be gale force over most summits with blizzard conditions at times in snow showers.

Further Outlook:

Snow looks likely to low level in the Highlands, especially Sutherland and to affect most higher summits elsewhere on Monday as cold northwesterly winds persist. And it looks like staying very windy through the week with gales to low levels and perhaps to storm force in northern and western parts of Scotland at times. Snow may turn back to rain to mid level at times, but it looks likely that we'll start seeing some good accumulation over higher ground in the Highlands, with extensive drifting. Not unusually cold for the time of year though and with a fair bit of cloud and strong winds there won't be too much in the way of frosts outside of the usual Highland glens, though overnight temperatures elsewhere are expected to drop a little below freezing on some nights.



For the latest daily weather update covering most upland regions of Britain, more please visit The Mountain Weather Information Service website provided by Geoff Monk.

Met Office Mountain Forecasts are also available for the Highlands, Lake District, Peak District and Wales.



Note: this is a personal interpretation of likely weather conditions on the UK hills and is intended for general guidance purposes only. Local conditions may vary and changes may occur suddenly and without warning. Extreme caution should always be exercised when venturing into the hills

TOI 11.09 GMT – 1st December 2011

Forecast by Andy Mayhew for Ukww

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