Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Cairngorms National Park and Monadhliath. Also includes the Ben Alder area hills between Loch Ericht and Loch Laggan.
Tuesday's Forecast
Windy, walking impeded
Blustery conditions enough to give buffeting on higher terrain or affect balance on exposed ridges. 25 to 40mph.
Patchy rain or drizzle
Rain on and off, or generally drizzly - total amounts small, but may be persistently damp, especially where hills are shrouded in cloud.
Chilly
Air temperature typically 0 to 5C on higher summits. Feeling distinctly chilly on tops when stationary or where exposed to wind. Take appropriate layers.
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.
Patchy rain or drizzle
Rain on and off, or generally drizzly - total amounts small, but may be persistently damp, especially where hills are shrouded in cloud.
Chilly
Air temperature typically 0 to 5C on higher summits. Feeling distinctly chilly on tops when stationary or where exposed to wind. Take appropriate layers.
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
Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Tuesday 31st March 2026
Last updated
Mon 30th Mar 26 at
3:50PM
Summary for all mountain areas
A foggy, drizzly start for most, fog to lower slopes in western coastal areas. Fog lifts with time and drizzly rain eases, bursts of sun breaking out east, and perhaps more widely afternoon. Fog and drizzle lingers longest west Scotland and south Pennines. Blustery early, easing for most; a mild feel in England and Wales.
Headline for Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Blustery in exposure; drizzle and fog west, sun breaks east
How windy? (On the Munros)
Westerly, 25 to 35mph up to 40mph high Cairngorms near and west of Ben Macdui; gusty in places around exposed high tops and ridges. A southwesterly trend with time.
Effect of the wind on you?
Blustery over high terrain, affecting comfortable walking and balance on some exposed ridges, particularly high Cairngorms where strongest gusts will require extra effort to maintain stability. Considerable wind chill.
How Wet?
Patchy drizzle, mostly west
Early in the day, some patchy rain drifting east, soon passing. A little drizzle in the air follows, most common around and west of the A9, amounting to little in total. Often dry eastern Cairngorms NP.
Cloud on the hills?
Extensive higher areas, breaks northeast with time
Shrouding most hills in the morning above 800-1000m, lowest toward west, some lower banks for a time to middle/lower slopes. Tending to rise and break with time, perhaps approaching summits east of Ben Macdui, and perhaps generally more broken through afternoon. Banks likely linger nearer to 900m near Ben Alder,
Chance of cloud free Munros?
20%, rising to 50% easternmost tops.
Sunshine and air clarity?
Bursts of sun, mostly eastern areas where may be more often sunny than cloudy; a few glimpses further west with time. Poor visibility on much higher terrain at least in morning, becoming good where cloud lifts and breaks.
How Cold? (at 900m)
4 or 5C, may rise to 6C for a time in eastern areas, particularly if in sunshine. Feeling like -5 to -8C directly in the wind.
Freezing Level
Above freezing up to all summits.
Viewing Forecast For
Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Wednesday 1st April 2026
Last updated
Mon 30th Mar 26 at
3:50PM
How windy? (On the Munros)
Southwesterly 35 to 50mph, stronger gusts for a time - uncertain duration, but later suddenly switching northerly 20-30mph.
Effect of the wind on you?
Arduous walking with buffeting gusts high tops, locally downslope to east, effects ease somewhat. Significant wind chill.
How Wet?
Rain developing, turns to snow later
Patchy rain or scattered drizzly showers, developing into more persistent rain western areas afternoon, spreading widely and turning heavier, later turning to snow on higher terrain, possibly to lowering elevations.
Cloud on the hills?
Fairly extensive
Covering higher slopes particularly from Cairngorm plateau westwards most or all day above 800-1000m, lowest in constant precipitation, to 600m. Higher breaks eastward.
Chance of cloud free Munros?
20%
Sunshine and air clarity?
Largely cloudy, local brighter moments toward Deeside. Visibility increasingly poor as rain sets in, becoming very poor in snow.
How Cold? (at 900m)
4C in morning, tending to drop, to 0C during day, later -3C northern areas. Feeling like -10C in exposure to wind.
Freezing Level
Above all summits for several hours at least, then dropping onto high tops, later possibly more rapidly to 600m in north.
Viewing Forecast For
Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Thursday 2nd April 2026
Last updated
Mon 30th Mar 26 at
3:50PM
How windy? (On the Munros)
Variable 15mph or less in the morning, turning southerly and strengthening, 15-25mph.
Effect of the wind on you?
Mostly small, but beginning to feel blustery in exposure as the afternoon goes.
How Wet?
Substantially dry
Some snow flurries affecting northern and eastern Cairngorms, these tending to ease for dry hills.
Cloud on the hills?
Variable, mostly high terrain
Cloud banks often covering hills above 900-1000m, some lower banks in the morning. With time, cloud base may lift on the northern slopes, while lowering on the southern slopes, perhaps to 700-800m Drumochter late in the day.
Chance of cloud free Munros?
40%
Sunshine and air clarity?
Bursts of sunshine, the sun most consistent on lower slopes. Very good visibility.
How Cold? (at 900m)
-3C lifting to -1C or 0C.
Freezing Level
Poorly defined early; 400-600m, frosts at lower elevations too, including glens. Rising, approaching 800-900m.
Planning Outlook
A drop of temperature is expected across Scotland during Wednesday as a band of rain drifts slowly southwards, turning to heavy upland snow. Atlantic weather patterns and west-southwesterly winds follow behind into the start of the Easter period at least, but day-to-day detail is uncertain. Temperature and wind will be variable, periods of gales and possibly often cold over the mountains with snow and hail showers at times to lower elevations at least in Scotland, sometimes more widely, mixed with some spells of rain - precipitation generally most frequent west and northwest, though bands of heavy rain will sweep east at times. Some windows of drier and brighter conditions, as well as milder days in England and Wales, occasionally milder Scotland too.