West Highlands
Western Highlands accessible from, and south of, Glenfinnan (Road to the Isles) and Glen Spean (includes Creag Meagaidh). This area includes Ben Nevis and the mountains around Glencoe. In the east, from Ben Alder south to Loch Lomond and Trossachs NP. Also Arran and Mull.
Thursday's Forecast
Windy, walking impeded
Blustery conditions enough to give buffeting on higher terrain or affect balance on exposed ridges. 25 to 40mph.
Snow flurries
Occasional light snow flurries, sleet or rain lower elevations. Amounts little more than nuisance value, but locally more persistent and reducing visibility for periods.
Hazy, some fog banks
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Visibility reduced around cloud banks, hazier on some lower slopes. Locally some improvements possible out of cloud.
Cold
Air temperature below 0C all day on higher mountains. Significant chill factor if exposed to strong winds. Suitable protective clothing required.
Winter kit required on higher terrain
Snow cover over higher mountains. Safe progress over some terrain will require suitable footwear - possibly crampons and ice-axe where necessary.
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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.
Snow flurries
Occasional light snow flurries, sleet or rain lower elevations. Amounts little more than nuisance value, but locally more persistent and reducing visibility for periods.
Hazy, some fog banks
Visibility reduced around cloud banks, hazier on some lower slopes. Locally some improvements possible out of cloud.
Cold
Air temperature below 0C all day on higher mountains. Significant chill factor if exposed to strong winds. Suitable protective clothing required.
Winter kit required on higher terrain
Snow cover over higher mountains. Safe progress over some terrain will require suitable footwear - possibly crampons and ice-axe where necessary.
Viewing Forecast For
West Highlands
Thursday 19th February 2026
Last updated
Wed 18th Feb 26 at
4:29PM
Summary for all mountain areas
Most mountain terrain remains frozen. Gusty southeasterly wind with significant chill factor. Some snow flurries towards southwest of Highlands with low cloud banks, clearer northward. Light snow fading Peak District and Pennines, low cloud persists here. Generally dry Wales but increasingly windy.
Headline for West Highlands
Strong gusty wind. Cloud banks south, snow flurries later.
How windy? (On the Munros)
Southeast turning southerly 25 to 35mph, speed tending to increase, in afternoon 40mph, soonest coastal hills, more widely up to dusk.
Effect of the wind on you?
Blustery and increasingly significant wind chill over the mountains, walking becoming more challenging in afternoon in exposure.
How Wet?
Patchy coastal precipitation
Patchy light snow affecting moving in from southwest at times, rain below 300-400m; occasional patches will spread further inland, more likely by late afternoon.
Cloud on the hills?
Fleeting caps on some summits
The hills largely free of cloud in Lochaber well into day. Cloud banks drift onto tops from Arran to Mull and Loch Lomond NP, and fills in more widely on high terrain from southwest with time.
Chance of cloud free Munros?
80%, dropping to 50% north, 30% southern hills.
Sunshine and air clarity?
Sun mostly weakened by high cloud, tending to become cloudier. Very good visibility, some haze south.
How Cold? (at 900m)
-3 or -2C, locally variable and only little change with added height. Feeling like -15 to -18C in direct wind.
Freezing Level
300m but frosts in glens as well, lifting though spatially variable, 400-600m, likely highest coastal Lochaber.
Viewing Forecast For
West Highlands
Friday 20th February 2026
Last updated
Wed 18th Feb 26 at
4:29PM
How windy? (On the Munros)
Southwesterly 25-35mph, very soon rising near the coast, 45-55mph, spreading widely with a westerly shift; gusty.
Effect of the wind on you?
Walking becoming challenging with significant wind chill on high terrain; maintaining stability a constant effort.
How Wet?
Precipitation most of the day
Persistent snow from before dawn, rain to low slopes at first. Tending to break into a showery regime with the rain level rising to high slopes; dry periods likely only short-lived.
Cloud on the hills?
Fairly extensive
Cloud shrouds the mountains from middle slopes upward most of the day, often reaching the low slopes during rain. Some variability during cessations in rain, a chance of fleeting higher breaks.
Chance of cloud free Munros?
20%
Sunshine and air clarity?
Likely cloudy, a few bright moments here and there inland. Visibility often poor, but excellent during breaks in cloud and rain.
How Cold? (at 900m)
0 or -1C at and before dawn, soon rising, reaching +2C. Feeling like -13 to -15C in direct wind.
Freezing Level
500-600m, though variable, some low frosts at dawn, but also higher thaws Skye; rising with time to 1000-1100m.
Viewing Forecast For
West Highlands
Saturday 21st February 2026
Last updated
Wed 18th Feb 26 at
4:29PM
How windy? (On the Munros)
Southwesterly 35 to 50mph; gales from overnight may briefly lessen, then tending to re-strengthen during the day.
Effect of the wind on you?
Expect arduous walking conditions over exposed high terrain most of day, perhaps a brief relative lull in morning.
How Wet?
Rain most of day, heavy at times
Rain affects most places throughout the day, but for a few hours may be on and off, starting as sleet or wet snow on high tops, locally fading occasionally inland Lochaber. Likely to set in widely heavier.
Cloud on the hills?
Extensive
Blanketing the mountains all day, from lower elevations upward toward the coasts and islands. Bases rarely above 600m inland, highest toward Loch Laggan.
Chance of cloud free Munros?
Below 10%
Sunshine and air clarity?
Overcast and dull. Visibility generally poor.
How Cold? (at 900m)
2C rising to 4C. Where exposed to stronger winds on tops, feeling like -10C.
Freezing Level
1100-1200m from dawn in Lochaber, rising above the highest summits.
Planning Outlook
Toward the weekend, a switch to southwesterly winds, bringing milder conditions - lifting above freezing to tops in England and Wales with substantial thawing, and generally higher freezing levels in Scotland; periods of thawing to Munro summits will occur but also further snowfall and refreezing on higher terrain during the day-to-day variability of precipitation and freezing levels onward into early next week. Often windy with periods of upland gales. Some spells of heavy rain over all western hills and low cloud frequently covering the hills.