Climbing Snowdon in the rain

Sadly not every day out on Snowdon/Yr Wyddfa is a beautiful, blue sky adventure. Sometimes, it rains! If you’re from the UK then this shouldn’t be breaking news. We’re very used to dealing with changing weather conditions but forgetting your umbrella when you’re heading into town is a very different proposition to climbing Wales’ highest mountain.

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Snowdon Summit Weather

Snowdon Summit Weather

If you’re planning to climb Snowdon in the coming days it’s essential you know what the weather’s going to be like at the summit. Checking the mountain weather forecast before setting off will ensure you have the right gear for the day or might even lead you to change your plans altogether.

It’s important to understand how mountain weather differs from the weather we experience in the valleys. Very simply we would expect the temperature to drop by 1°C for every 100m we climb. Snowdon is over 1000m high so typically the temperature will be around 10°C colder at the top than when you started. That’s before we add in any other factors such as wind chill.

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MWIS - Mountain Weather Information Service

Mountain Weather Information Service

The Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS) is a dedicated team of professional meteorologists with experience in mountaineering who produce forecasts for ten UK mountain areas 365 days a year.

MWIS weather forecasts contain detailed information aimed at novice and experienced mountain users. Their forecasts come largely in the form of warnings. Generally when there is little text, the conditions are fairly benign. The wording used indicates the impact of the weather on the user and particularly when there is the possibility of severe conditions they try to include this in the forecast as a probability even when the risk is low.

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Met Office Mountain Weather Forecasts

Met Office Mountain Weather Forecasts

The UK Met Office provides mountain weather forecasts for the main hill and mountain areas around the country. These forecasts are designed for walkers, mountaineers and others enjoying outdoor activities. They’re issued each afternoon and cover that evening period, the full 24 hours from midnight to midnight for the next two days and include a brief outlook for the following three days. They’re then updated in the early hours of each morning before 6am so it’s important to check again on the day for any updates.

Mountain weather forecasts are available for the Northwest Highlands, North Grampian, South Grampian and Southeast Highlands and Southwest Highlands regions in Scotland. In England they’re written for the Lake District, Yorkshire Dales and Peak District. Forecasts are also available for Snowdonia and Brecon Beacons in Wales and the Mourne Mountains in Northern Ireland.

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