Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Cairngorms National Park and Monadhliath. Also includes the Ben Alder area hills between Loch Ericht and Loch Laggan.
Saturday's Forecast
Moderate breeze, locally gusty
A noticeable breeze, feeling cool where exposed on tops. Locally may be gusty, but unlikely to affect walking progress. 15-25mph.
Sunshine and showers
A good amount of dry and bright weather, but scattered bursts of rain, some may be locally heavy.
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.
Click an icon for more information or click here for a key to all icons.
Moderate breeze, locally gusty
A noticeable breeze, feeling cool where exposed on tops. Locally may be gusty, but unlikely to affect walking progress. 15-25mph.
Sunshine and showers
A good amount of dry and bright weather, but scattered bursts of rain, some may be locally heavy.
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
Saturday 1st August 2026
Last updated
Fri 31st Jul 26 at
2:18PM
Summary for all mountain areas
England and Wales extensively dry with periods of sun and particularly Wales fairly light wind. Increasingly showery northwards across Scotland, although mostly confined to afternoon eastern mountains. Fairly chilly, particularly morning.
Headline for Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Chilly morning; scattered showers, mainly afternoon.
How windy? (On the Munros)
Westerly 20-25mph.
Effect of the wind on you?
Fairly small.
How Wet?
Showers developing
Showers, some briefly heavy, from late morning or midday onwards. Mostly dying out again from early evening.
Cloud on the hills?
Summits increasingly clearing
At dawn, varied cloud above 600m, mostly west of A9. Cloud base lifts through morning, many summits clearing by midday, particularly east of the A9, but cloud may continue to come and go above about 1200m.
Chance of cloud free Munros?
70% by afternoon
Sunshine and air clarity?
Mostly sunny morning, sunshine gradually more patchy. Very good visibility.
How Cold? (at 900m)
6C rising to 11C. Will feel near freezing point directly in wind in morning.
Freezing Level
Above the summits.
Viewing Forecast For
Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Sunday 2nd August 2026
Last updated
Fri 31st Jul 26 at
2:18PM
How windy? (On the Munros)
Westerly 20, perhaps 25mph after dawn. Will drop toward 10mph, probably by early or mid afternoon.
Effect of the wind on you?
Fairly small before becoming mostly negligible.
How Wet?
Rain unlikely
Possibly the odd brief shower.
Cloud on the hills?
More or less all clearing
Patches over a few hours on some higher slopes, but by late morning, very little anywhere.
Chance of cloud free Munros?
40% gradually rising to 90%
Sunshine and air clarity?
Periods of sunshine, although later the sun hazy. Excellent visibility.
How Cold? (at 900m)
6C rising to 13C. Feeling close to or below freezing point directly in wind in morning.
Freezing Level
Above the summits.
Viewing Forecast For
Cairngorms NP and Monadhliath
Monday 3rd August 2026
Last updated
Fri 31st Jul 26 at
2:18PM
How windy? (On the Munros)
Easterly 10-15mph; tending to strengthen to around 25mph; very gusty in places.
Effect of the wind on you?
Mostly fairly small, but expect sudden gusts to develop (sometimes on lower slopes) making balance tricky.
How Wet?
Deteriorating: rain increasingly likely
Low confidence - timing of changes very uncertain: As cloud thickens from south, rain will probably spread northwards, and become constant.
Cloud on the hills?
Increasingly forming in rain
Most, possibly all hills cloud free morning, possibly for most of day. In rain, fog will gradually shroud some or most higher slopes, even extending to some lower slopes, particularly Deeside.
Chance of cloud free Munros?
80% dropping to 20%
Sunshine and air clarity?
Little or no sunshine. Excellent or superb visibility, but dropping markedly in rain.
How Cold? (at 900m)
9C
Freezing Level
Above the summits.
Planning Outlook
Still a few showers W & NW Highlands on Sunday, and threat of some rain by dusk western mountains. The rain will be ahead of a very complicated weather pattern early next week; areas of rain will drift slowly across central and mainly northern Britain, but the distribution of rain (and associated low cloud) remains very uncertain. Despite some recent rain (mainly in Scotland), away from the W & NW Highlands terrain remains exceptionally dry: 'tinder dry'.