Cairngorms
Friday 4 September 2026 · The Cairngorm plateau and eastern high tops
Why: Rain could reach the main walking period or hold off until later; forecast models disagree on the timing.
Poor visibility is the main concern. Expect a risk of patchy rain or drizzle and summit clag likely.
High-ground wind (900 m)
Westerly around 10 mph at 900 m. Gusts reaching around 15 mph at 900 m, with locally higher values possible on the most exposed tops. Little overall change through the day.
Walking impact
Little effect on walking, although exposed tops may still feel chilly.
Rain and showers
The odd passing shower, otherwise dry. Forecast models disagree on when the rain may arrive.
Cloud-free summits
Around 25%. Around 10% early, improving to around 50% later.
Cloud and visibility
Cloud bases mostly around 700-1000 m. Bases should tend to lift as the day goes on. Most higher summits are likely to be in cloud for much of the day, with only brief or isolated breaks.
Temperature and wind chill
Around 7°C at 900 m, feeling like 4°C in the wind.
Freezing level
Above the summits.
Daylight
Sunrise 06:21 — Sunset 20:04 — about 13.7 hours daylight.
Overnight · 6 p.m.–9 a.m.Wild campingBetaA broadly promising night on a well-chosen pitch. 100/100Excellent · 600 m View detailsHide details
Full regional overnight outlook
Across representative hills, open-hillside camping looks promising around 600 m (100/100).
The full morning pack-up period is not yet covered, so this is a partial overnight view.
Elevation reference (open ground)
- Wind / gust
- 7 / 12 mph
- Coldest
- 9.4°C
- In cloud
- Unlikely
- Condensation
- Low
- Wind / gust
- 9 / 14 mph
- Coldest
- 9.1°C
- In cloud
- Unlikely
- Condensation
- Low
- Wind / gust
- 10 / 17 mph
- Coldest
- 7.1°C
- In cloud
- Unlikely
- Condensation
- Low
Open-hillside guidance across representative hills. Local shelter, ridges, tent design and the exact pitch can change conditions substantially. Read about sleeping-bag comfort ratings, pitching in strong winds or using the wild-camping forecast.
Daytime · exposed rockClimbing & scramblingBetaWet rock is likely on some representative hills. 32/100Poor · Poor View detailsHide details
Full regional climbing & scrambling outlook
Conditions for exposed scrambling across the area look poor (32/100). Rain is likely to leave rock wet; polished slabs, vegetation and drainage lines may be notably worse. Mapped summit-point geology across the representative hills includes granite, gneiss or gabbro; moisture response can therefore vary substantially between crags and routes.
Representative summit-point samples across the region; individual crags and routes may differ.
Generic exposed hands-on-rock terrain across representative summits; mapped summit-point geology is a broad regional sample, not a named-route survey. Contains British Geological Survey materials © UKRI 2026. How to use the climbing and scrambling forecast.
Updated 30 August 2026 at 04:40 UTC. See typical weekly and monthly conditions for Cairngorms.