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Mountain Conditions

Scotland Mountain Weather

Current conditions and forecasts for Scotland's most popular walking areas — summit temperatures, wind, daylight and seasonal notes.

Scotland\'s mountain weather is among the most severe in Europe. Summit temperatures, wind speeds and visibility can differ dramatically from valley conditions — a sunny day in Fort William provides no indication of what is happening at 1,345m on Ben Nevis. Always check an official mountain forecast from MWIS or the Met Office before any hill day.

MWIS

Mountain Weather Information Service — specialist Scottish mountain forecasts

SAIS

Scottish Avalanche Information Service — avalanche forecasts November–May

Met Office

Mountain forecast: summit temperatures and wind for major Scottish peaks

Weather by location

Ben Nevis

Lochaber

1345m

Ben Nevis (1,345m) has one of the most severe summit climates in the British Isles.

Cairngorm

Cairngorms

1245m

Cairngorm (1,245m) is the sixth-highest mountain in the UK and the centrepiece of the Cairngorm plateau — the largest area of land above 900m in Britain.

Glencoe

Lochaber

1150m

Glencoe sits in a dramatic glaciated valley on the western Highland edge, receiving the full force of Atlantic weather systems.

Ben Lomond

Loch Lomond & The Trossachs

974m

Ben Lomond (974m) is Scotland's most southerly Munro and one of its most visited.

Isle of Skye

Isle of Skye

992m

The Isle of Skye has the most unpredictable weather in Scotland — its position as the first landmass catching Atlantic systems from the south-west means rapid changes, extreme rainfall (up to 3,500mm annually in the Cuillin) and persistent low cloud on the ridges.

Torridon

Northwest Highlands

1055m

Torridon holds some of Scotland's most ancient and dramatic mountain terrain — Liathach (1,055m) and Beinn Alligin (986m) rise from near sea level in Torridonian sandstone that is 750 million years old.

Aviemore & Cairngorm

Cairngorms

1245m

Aviemore is the main gateway town for the Cairngorms and sits at approximately 230m in the Spey valley below the plateau.

Fort William

Lochaber

1345m

Fort William sits at the head of Loch Linnhe and the foot of Glen Nevis — the wettest town in Scotland with annual rainfall exceeding 2,000mm.

Loch Lomond

Loch Lomond & The Trossachs

974m

Loch Lomond sits at the Highland Boundary Fault — a geological transition zone between the Scottish Lowlands and Highlands.

Glen Affric

Northern Highlands

1183m

Glen Affric is widely regarded as Scotland's most beautiful glen — a long, deep valley of Caledonian pine forest, lochs and remote Munros extending west from Cannich.