[Andy Mayhew]

Mountain Forecast – Issued Thursday 29th December

Continuing unsettled and windy

General Situation:

The current unsettled pattern of weather continues as high pressure persists to the south of Britain with low pressure out towards Iceland and a strong, unstable, westerly airflow across the British Isles.

The Weekend in Detail:

New Year's Eve Saturday 31st December - A mild, cloudy, windy day with gales over summits, maybe severe in the Highlands, and whilst probably starting a bit brighter in the east, showers in the west soon merging into longer spells of rain with low cloud and snow likely above 2,500ft to start with. Mostly dry though across England and Wales through the morning but cloud lowering and some rain likely in the Lake District and Snowdonia in the afternoon. A wet and windy Hogmanay, especially in the Highlands with further rain also spreading in across Galloway and northern England and later overnight into Wales. Rain turning back to snow over higher summits in the Highlands overnight.

New Year's Day Sunday 1st January 2012 - a cooler day (though by no means cold), with showers in the Highlands turning to sleet and snow to around 2,000ft and maybe lower later in the day. Continuing very windy and most summits look like remaining obscured though a few clearances between showerrs possible, especially further east. A wet start to the new year for Wales and the Peak District as a cold front moves through, but overnight rain should have cleared the Lakes before dawn and most other upland areas of England and Wales soon after sunrise and turning brighter for a time in the morning. Hill fog may persist though across the SW Moors and perhaps S Wales. Most parts becoming showery by midday, these most frequent in the west, with a risk of some wintry precipitation for the highest summits in England and Wales as well as Scotland.

Further Outlook:

Further showers of rain, sleet and snow coupled with gales over summits and perhaps later to low levels on Monday, with more rain and gales then spreading from the west on Tuesday. Later in the week though it's possible that the high pressure to the south or southwest of Britain may nudge northwards a bit to lessen the winds for a time.

The current outlook to the middle of January suggests that there will be snow at times over the Scottish hills and maybe even the higher summits of Cumbria and Wales, but much of this looks like being transient as milder spells bring rain to all levels. Occasional frosts, mainly in Highland glens, but no prolonged cold periods are expected. Remaining windy, especially in the north, though less stormy than the past week has been.

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.

Avalanche news for the Highlands is provided by SAIS


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 11.15 GMT – 29th December 2011

Forecast by Andy Mayhew for Ukww

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