Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Cairngorms National Park and Monadhliath. Also includes the Ben Alder area hills between Loch Ericht and Loch Laggan.
Thursday's Forecast
Windy, walking impeded
Blustery conditions enough to give buffeting on higher terrain or affect balance on exposed ridges. 25 to 40mph.
Patchwork of cloud and sun
Dry most or all day. A mix of cloud and sunshine. Occasional cloud banks drifting over higher slopes, lifting above the tops.
Clear
Excellent or superb visibility, no navigation issues.
Cool to mild
Air temperature 5 to 10C on higher terrain. Comfortable temperatures on lower terrain, but feeling chilly if exposed to wind higher up, especially if stationary. Pack extra layers.
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Windy, walking impeded
Blustery conditions enough to give buffeting on higher terrain or affect balance on exposed ridges. 25 to 40mph.
Patchwork of cloud and sun
Dry most or all day. A mix of cloud and sunshine. Occasional cloud banks drifting over higher slopes, lifting above the tops.
Clear
Excellent or superb visibility, no navigation issues.
Cool to mild
Air temperature 5 to 10C on higher terrain. Comfortable temperatures on lower terrain, but feeling chilly if exposed to wind higher up, especially if stationary. Pack extra layers.
Viewing Forecast For
Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Thursday 1st October 2026
Last updated
Wed 30th Sep 26 at
4:15PM
Summary for all mountain areas
Showery outbreaks in Wales and west Scotland, early hill cloud tends to lift with breaks. Showers well-scattered elsewhere, early hill cloud largely clears. Showers lessen widely, often sunny though some haze. Mild temperatures, warm valleys afternoon; west Scotland starts cool, feeling chilly in a blustery wind.
Headline for Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
A few showers, mostly west; plentiful sun
How windy? (On the Munros)
Southwesterly 20-30mph, will vary, and may trend towards the lighter end of the range for a few hours. Will strengthen overnight.
Effect of the wind on you?
Nuisance wind in exposure likely all day with a chilly feeling, more strenuous walking on high Cairngorms at times.
How Wet?
Little expected
A few showers drift onto hills around Drumochter at times, perhaps an odd spot further east afternoon, but otherwise dry.
Cloud on the hills?
Increasingly just high tops with breaks
Cloud from 900m upward southern Cairngorms, rolling over the tops, scattered low patches in sheltered corries/glens; well-broken north slopes. Cloud will lift to just patches over tops, increasingly broken, to fleeting patches over tops near Ben Macdui.
Chance of cloud free Munros?
Rising to 70%
Sunshine and air clarity?
Sun increasingly extensive, particularly north and east. Very good visibility.
How Cold? (at 900m)
6 or 7C, may reach 8C on sun exposed slopes north of high Cairngorms. Feeling near 0C in strongest wind.
Freezing Level
Above the summits.
Viewing Forecast For
Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Friday 2nd October 2026
Last updated
Wed 30th Sep 26 at
4:15PM
How windy? (On the Munros)
Southwesterly 25-35mph, sometimes quite gusty.
Effect of the wind on you?
Blustery in exposure all day with a chilly feeling, some more strenuous moments in buffeting gusts and feeling chilly.
How Wet?
Often raining
Persistent rain over Drumochter and west Cairngorms most of the day, broader areas of rain passing east to west more widely, several extended heavy falls on southern Cairngorm slopes probable.
Cloud on the hills?
Tops shrouded, lowest bases southwest
A layer of cloud unlikely clears above 1100m even during breaks in rain, bases regularly lower, approaching 600-700m towards Drumochter, ragged patches to forest canopies during and after heaviest rainfall.
Chance of cloud free Munros?
20%
Sunshine and air clarity?
A few bright glimpses north of high Cairngorms, more often cloudy. Varied visibility but often poor in cloud and rain.
How Cold? (at 900m)
6 to 8C. Feeling like 0 to -3C in direct wind.
Freezing Level
Above the summits.
Viewing Forecast For
Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Saturday 3rd October 2026
Last updated
Wed 30th Sep 26 at
4:15PM
How windy? (On the Munros)
West-southwesterly 20-25mph. Later turning southwesterly, strengthening to 40-45mph, stronger overnight.
Effect of the wind on you?
Fairly small most of the day, deteriorating rapidly from evening into night to challenging conditions.
How Wet?
Occasional rain
A few spots of rain drift from the west, light in nature and rarely reaching east beyond the A9. Into night, rain spreads more widely.
Cloud on the hills?
Varied banks on high terrain
Cloud often over high terrain from 1000m upward, at times as low as 800m during rainfall west of A9, but also breaking towards the high Cairngorms, and likely off tops at times.
Chance of cloud free Munros?
40%
Sunshine and air clarity?
Intermittent sun, weakened by high cloud. Good visibility out of cloud.
How Cold? (at 900m)
4C, rising a degree. Feeling like -0C in direct wind, later colder.
Freezing Level
Above the summits.
Planning Outlook
Friday starts the weekend with windy and damp weather, rain quite frequent with extensive cloud for some. On Saturday, higher pressure expands from the south, gradually settling the weather in England and Wales. Scotland remains breezy with cloud and showers, mostly impacting western regions. The following week remains mixed: high pressure to the south and west bringing some windows of brighter, drier weather primarily to England and Wales, but active low pressure systems will break through as well for spells of widespread wind, sometimes gale force, and bands of rain followed by showers. Precise timing of settled versus unsettled weather is currently uncertain. Temperatures variably mild to cool, beginning to reach freezing on Scottish summits, or lower down on clear nights.