•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

Heavy frontal precipitation will push in from the West giving overnight mountain blizzards. Storm Force winds expected Sunday, no further snowsports tickets will be released for Sunday. DO NOT TRAVEL to any of the ski areas unless you already have a lift pass! Expect delays on all the East Coast Access Roads AM.

At update the A939 Lecht Pass is now closed for the night, along with the CairnGorm Ski Road at the Glenmore Gates. At time of posting the A93 Cairnwell Pass was open.

If you have been out on slopes please send photos to the email at the foot of this page!

Blizzard conditions will develop through the early hours of Sunday on rapidly strengthening SE turning Southerly winds. Wind speeds will peak through the dawn period, Hurricane Force on and immediately downslope of the Cairngorm Plateau where gusts over 100mph are anticipated. A combination of heavy falling snow, ample supply of loose lying snow and the high winds are expected to cause severe drifting down to road level from the early hours through to post dawn. This means it is anticipated all the East Coast access roads will start the day closed.

The Freezing level will rise erratically from the West, so how long the drifting continues is uncertain. If possible check AM updates and www.snowgatecameras.co.uk before travelling, if needing an earlier start keep checking on route.

Given the severity of the forecast CairnGorm will not attempt to operate any of the mid or upper mountain ski tows and the Funicular will be closed for the day. Whether the road opens at all may well depend on what the freezing level does and how quickly or not the drifting subsides.

There are substantial deposits of loose snow on the Plateau and Southerly aspects of CairnGorm, which will get redistributed into the Northern Corries by the Hurricane Force SE winds. This has the potential to make the season in terms of the classic CairnGorm ski runs formed by gullies and natural snowfields, with the potential for big quantities of snow to be driven down the Ciste Gully and into the likes of the Cas Gunbarrel. But snow will also get blasted down the Windy Ridge where the first terrain trap is the Ski Road!

Top to Daylodge riding (and for the adventurous top to Ciste Carpark offering 2000ft of vertical) has been possible via various routes. So far only the M1 Poma has run out of tows below the Top Basin, but the Carpark Tow and Fiacaill Ridge Poma were barred up on Fri/Sat. Snow conditions and coverage info is going to be historical by tomorrow for better or worse!

Over at the Lecht, the open main runs are full width machine packed new snow between the fences. The beginner area magic carpet runs are in excellent shape for learning. See photos for a more detailed picture / report.

Glenshee has not seen as much snow as the Northern Cairngorms, but machines have been dozing out drifts to get some longer tows open for the first time this season, with a Sunnyside Poma and Butcharts Access Poma making their season debuts on Thursday. There is a huge amount of snow at the top of Butcharts Coire, but the Access Poma run itself is narrow and thin in places, as is the top of Sunnyside which has been scoured.

With Nevis Range shut and not enough snow for main lifts at Glencoe, the only action in the West on Saturday was beginner lessons and the Sledge Park at Glencoe. It is advisable to arrive before 2pm at the latest for sledging to get a decent amount of time on the hill. First chair up at 9am, last chair up at 3.45pm and last chair down at 4pm. Snowsports lessons are taking place for beginners on snow at the Plateau Cafe.

Around 4-6 inches of new snow fell at Glencoe on Saturday, the Plateau area is fairly close and significant hill snow is expected overnight. The next 24 to 36 hours could make or break the rest of the month on the upper mountain. If the Access Chair does run on Sunday, it will not be a day for taking little ones sledging!

:: England Club Fields

The 3 Pennine Club Fields were able to open on Saturday, with a thin cover of new snow lying on frozen ground. Very little snow at Raise.

Weardale will open Sunday, but it is likely to be only for a few hours before wind increases and early snow turns to rain. Expect a difficult road AM requiring snow tyres or chains. Yad Moss will not open Sunday.

Keep in mind the M6 is closed North of Shap Summit to the A66, with a Northbound diversion via the A6 and Southbound daytime diversion via the A66 and A685.

For both Weardale and Allenheads, you need to join the club with a season pass, these are still available for both at this time.

Please check club access rules / availability if not a club member / pass holder.

Weardale: https: //skiweardale.com/ .
Allenheads: http://ski-allenheads.co.uk/ .
Yad Moss: https: //yadmoss.co.uk/ .
Raise: https: //www.ldscsnowski.co.uk/ .

:: Mountain Weather

At 8pm in the West at the Glencoe SSC hut at 850m the mid mountain temperature was -1.3°c, wind at 12 gusting 45mph. At Base level (366m) it was +2.0°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -3.5°c. The Met Office station was reporting a South wind at 37 gusting 48mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was -1.8°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +2.5°c.

In the East the CairnGorm the Met Office Summit AWS reported -4.5°c with a Southerly at a mean of 35 gusting 45mph. Aviemore was at +2.4°c at 8pm.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS (3061ft /934m) reported -2.8°c with a South wind at a mean of 35 gusting 43mph.

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

Heavy frontal snow will push in from the West tonight on rapidly strengthening SE turning Southerly winds. Wind speeds will peak through the dawn period on Sunday, Hurricane Force on and immediately downslope of the Cairngorm Plateau where gusts over 100mph are anticipated.

During Sunday morning the freezing level will rise erratically from the West meaning blizzards giving way to a complicated mix of rain, freezing rain, sleet and snow. There are likely to be marked variations in precipitation type over short distances, some locations will see summit rain while snow still falls into glens not that far away!

Overall expect severe and very difficult mountain conditions with widespread Storm Force winds on upland areas. Overhead conditions and visibility are likely to be horrendous on Sunday with early driving snow giving way to heavy rain, with a risk of a period of freezing rain. Minus -3 to -2°c at Munro Level, erraticalling rising to between 0 and +2°c by dusk. SE winds veering Southerly, widely 40 to 50 gusting 60 to 70mph, but risk 80 to over 110mph on the Cairngorm Plateau and northern downslopes for several hours through the dawn period on Sunday. Gusts to over 90mph likely through the Nevis Range mountains.

Some modest moderation in wind speed expected into the afternoon, but after dusk wind speeds are expected to ramp up again, with possibly the strongest winds of the next few days occurring through the early hours of Monday as a deep area of low pressure passes close to NW Scotland.

With the winds turning SSW to SW Monday may well see stronger winds than Sunday at Glencoe. Showers will revert to snow on the Munros with the freezing level around 3000ft. Wind widely still 45 to 50mph with gusts to 70 to 80mph. Another day of limited if any snowsports uplift on Monday, Glenshee perhaps fairing best with the SW direction.

A significant moderation in wind for Tuesday is now expected, a transient ridge likely to give a dry and fairly bright day in the Northern Cairngorms, but some snow showers into the Southern and Western Highlands. Around -1 to -2°c at Munro Level. Light and variable wind becoming moderate WSW from the West.

Day to day detail through the second half of the week is very uncertain, as a series of low pressure systems are set to come in off the Atlantic. Higher Scottish mountains look set to see freeze / thaw cycling with an overall accumulation of new snow, the question is at what level is there a net gain vs net loss through the storm cycles.

High streams and flooding is a potential risk given the volume of snow at low elevations in the Northern Highlands and Aberdeenshire.

:: Webcams and Weather Stations

Lowther Hill: Leadhills webcam is online (24/7).

GLENCOE: All mountain webcams online and the first updated images will be shortly after 8am. The mid mountain weather station wind vane failed due to nearby lightning. Windspeed and other parameters are OK.