Fell Top Weather

Forecast

This evening

Heavy rain persisting for all areas through much of this evening, turning lighter towards midnight. Fresh SW winds and extensive hill fog.

Tomorrow - Thursday, 25th February

Summary

Cold and windy with morning fog, but plenty of afternoon sunshine.

Detail

Patchy rain or summit snow lingering for a few hours after midnight before clearing southeast. A dry, largely clear start to Thursday but cloud will tend to build through morning, shrouding the summits at times, but it will remain dry. Cloud lifting and breaking through afternoon to give plenty of sunshine and a dry, mostly clear evening.

Visibility

Areas of cloud above around 600m will develop through morning bringing fog conditions to highest ground, but away from these, good visibility expected.

Chance of cloud free summits

50% morning, 90% afternoon.

Forecaster's view

Note freezing levels around summit level, feeling bitterly cold here in the wind. Be aware of poor visibility through morning.

Conditions through the day

Time		00:00	03:00	06:00	09:00	12:00	15:00	18:00	21:00
Weather
Precipitation		30%	10%	10%	20%	10%	00%	00%	00%
Freezing Level		1200m	900m	800m	800m	800m	700m	800m	800m
900m	Temperature (°C)	2	1	0	-0	-0	-0	-0	-1
	Feels like (°C)	-4	-6	-8	-8	-7	-7	-8	-8
	Wind direction	W	SW	SW	SW	W	W	W	W
	Wind speed (mph)	23	25	29	25	23	22	23	21
	Wind gust (mph)	29	33	38	33	31	31	29	26
600m	Temperature (°C)	4	3	2	2	2	2	2	1
	Feels like (°C)	-2	-3	-4	-4	-4	-3	-4	-4
	Wind direction	W	SW	SW	SW	W	W	SW	W
	Wind speed (mph)	19	21	23	21	20	20	17	17
	Wind gust (mph)	26	29	33	29	29	30	24	25
300m	Temperature (°C)	6	5	4	4	5	5	4	4
	Feels like (°C)	3	2	1	1	2	2	1	1
	Wind direction	W	W	SW	SW	W	W	W	W
	Wind speed (mph)	9	9	10	10	11	11	6	6
	Wind gust (mph)	20	23	25	25	25	25	18	17
Valley	Temperature (°C)	7	7	6	6	7	7	6	6
	Feels like (°C)	4	4	3	3	4	4	4	3
	Wind direction	SW	SW	SW	SW	W	W	W	W
	Wind speed (mph)	9	8	9	11	12	11	7	7
	Wind gust (mph)	19	20	22	23	23	23	17	17

Daylight

dawn 06:34, sunrise 07:10, sunset 17:40, dusk 18:17

Fell Top Assessors' report

Fell Top Conditions on Wednesday 24 February

Readings from Helvellyn summit at 10:56

Temperature plus 3.1°C Maximum wind speed 33.8mph Wind chill minus 4.8°C Average wind speed 27.4mph Wind direction WSW

We are continuing to provide the Fell Top Reports for people undertaking their daily local exercise during the lockdown. We would like to remind everyone that Government guidance stipulates that people should only exercise locally, not leaving the village, town or city where they live.

Here is today's report:

Another very wet day in the Lakes with Cumbria under a Met Office yellow warning for rain until 20:00 this evening.

The ground is saturated and many rivers are in spate with areas of localised flooding across the county.

Although relatively snow-free, conditions in the higher fells remain challenging with strong winds and driving rain.

What snow remains needs to be treated with care as it tends to be found on steep ground around north and east-facing corrie headwalls.

The final section of Swirral edge is a good example, where an area of unavoidable snow needs to be negotiated, from where a slip could result in a long and damaging fall.

With overnight summit temperatures forecast to be around freezing tomorrow, the remaining snow could refreeze and microspikes or crampons may be required to negotiate this and similar areas safely.

Patches of ice are also still present on the summit plateau and are proving very resistant to the milder temperatures.

As a result of the ground being well frozen earlier in the month and subsequently having thawed out, it is now very soft and prone to erosional damage in many places.

Please help us to reduce the impact by sticking to footpaths where possible and of course avoiding any unnecessary damage.

Despite the milder temperatures, the summit windchill remains below freezing so full winter clothing (waterproofs, extra warm layers, hat & gloves), mountain boots, and additional equipment including a map and compass, headtorch and survival blanket/shelter are all essential for anyone going out onto the fells.

Please be conservative with your plans and know your limits.

Friday, 26th February

Detail

Dry with variable cloud amounts through the day with some low level cloud likely early and late. Away from this, skies will often be clear, allowing some lengthy spells of sunshine.

Wind

Southwest 15-20 gusting up to 30mph.

Visibility

Some mist of fog may develop in the valleys through morning, and some areas of low cloud likely across the Southern Fells through evening. Otherwise, very good visibility.

Chance of cloud free summits

70%.

Daylight

dawn 06:31, sunrise 07:07, sunset 17:42, dusk 18:18

Saturday, 27th February

A cloudier day to Friday as areas of thick and low cloud develop through morning, bringing some light rain or drizzle. A brighter, drier afternoon looks likely. Mainly light winds throughout.

Sunday, 28th February

Light winds will allow some mist or fog to form in the valleys early and late, but plenty of dry and sunny weather expected by day.

Monday, 1st March

Dry with variable cloud amounts - some hill fog likely as well as some sunshine.

This forecast contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence.