General Situation // Scottish Ski & Winter Activity Report // Winterhighland

Storm Chandra has delivered sustained snowfall across a swath of Highland mountains, accompanied by widespread stormy winds that have been sustained Hurricane Force on the top of CairnGorm all day, with the Heriot Watt Summit AWS reporting a peak gust of 133mph.

After a brief tease from the weather where the wind turned a true SE and lulled for a time at Glencoe post dawn, in the end none of the snowsports areas were able to offer any uplift on Tuesday.

At dusk the A93 Cairnwell Pass and the CairnGorm ski road were closed. The A939 Lecht Pass was open, but difficult in drifting snow at the summit. FL is expected to nudge up by dawn to around the lower slopes and this may dampen down road level drifting on Wednesday morning.

Though not as much snow has fallen at Cairngorm and the Lecht as Glenshee and Glencoe, huge amounts of snow were moving in to the Northern Corries from the SE and the Link Road was loading up, with the lee part of the Windy Ridge showing masses of snow at road level. The SAIS recorded a depth of 100cm close to the base of the Daylodge Poma. Can only hope a lot of that snow has gone into the Ciste Gully and not in the Minch, given the wind!

Glencoe has the advantage of not having a high level road to deal with and the wind looks to be moderating in the West soonest. Nonetheless across the snowsports areas there is likely to be a substantial amount of storm recovery work needed. There will be very deep deposits of windblown snow and scoured areas.

At Glencoe expect the most snow to not be in the usual places, depending on just how violent the wind was today, areas like the Rock Garden and Etive Glades would be favoured based on direction alone. With a bit of luck snow has also stuck on the Rannoch Button uptrack as it needs snow from the East.

Glenshee has seen the most snowfall today, but exactly what has stuck where at height and further out will need to be assessed AM. Some towers on the Caenlochan Poma are starting to look rather short, while some areas are blasted clear.

It is anticipated that all the currently operating areas should get open on Wednesday, but a degree of patience maybe required, given storm recovery work and be prepared there is the possibility of an unpleasant surprise or two for the mountain operations teams in the morning given the extreme winds at times!

All facilities at Nevis Range have been closed since Monday 5th January, including the base area. There is no lift assisted access to Aonach Mor for tourers or winter climbers at this time.

:: Glencoe Sledge Park

The Sledge Park at the Plateau Cafe is in excellent condition! 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. Sledgers keep in mind, the Access Chair will be busier at the end of weekend days with snowsports underway.

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:: England Club Fields

All club fields are waiting for new snow to arrive.

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/ .

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:: Mountain Weather

At 6pm in the West at the Glencoe SSC hut (850m) the temperature was -1.8°c. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was -1.2°c at 7pm. At Base level (366m) it was +0.4°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -3.7°c. The Met Office station was reporting a South wind at 43 gusting 92mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was 0.0°c, the peak gust at the CIC was 82mph. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +4°c.

In the East the Heriot Watt Summit Weather Station on CairnGorm reported -3.7°c, with a Hurricane Force South Easterly at a mean of 94 gusting 114mph. The peak wind speed for the day was 133mph. At Aviemore the temperature at 7pm was +3°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS (3061ft /934m) has not reported since mid afternoon. A peak wind of ESE 75 gust 114mph was recorded in the hour up to noon.

Note: Met Office CairnGorm AWS is affected by heaving rime. The HW AWS is stored in a heated cylinder for minutes before taking wind readings readings for 3mins every half an hour.

The Met Office Aonach Mor wind data should be treated with caution at present. Temperature being reported is consistently too low, this has been verified by SAIS on site (it has also persistently been below the SAIS summit AWS for a while).

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:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

Storm Force winds (or above) will continue into the evening, gradually moderating, then markedly moderating towards or during the dawn period on Wednesday. Gustier winds may hold on for a bit longer in the Northern Cairngorms, but while elsewhere the wind is expected to have dropped away, possibly even light and variable in the West towards lift opening time, there is potential for delays due to storm recovery work.

Wednesday itself may see the odd flurry first thing, but in the west it should be largely dry, with sunny periods under part cloudy skies. Wind will freshen a bit from the West later in the day. Around -2 to -1°c at Munro Level. Cloud will increase towards dusk, heralding more snow coming in from the SE ! In the East Highlands showers should fade at CairnGorm, the Lecht should see a mostly dry day, but light snow is likely on and off at Glenshee/

At this stage after Wednesday, Thursday looks like the less windy day out of Thursday and Friday, but by the weekend there is still considerable spread in forecast scenarios. However, now Storm Chandra exists, the impact in the medium term looks likely to hold off notably colder air potentially arriving from the East, and keeps us in a similar temperature / airflow regime as we had prior to the storm. Around or slightly below average temperatures is where the balance of probabilities lie in the ensembles.

Thursday will see snow showers, clusters of which will merge together at times towards the SE Highlands, but the far West and North areas may see some bright or sunny spells between snow showers. FL should be below the lower slopes with around -2 to -3°c at Munro Level. SE 20 to 30mph gusting 35 to 40mph generally, but risk gusts 55 to 60mph on and downslope of the Cairngorm Plateau and through the Nevis Range mountains.

Friday looks likely to see more organised snowfall, heavier and most persistent towards the SE Highlands, with wind speeds around 10 to 15mph on Thursday, significant drifting and poor visibility at height and more potential to affect uplift operations. Between -1 and -3°c at Munro Level.

Early indications for Saturday are for snow showers, around -2 to -3°c at Munro Level, with moderate SE winds, but gusts to 50mph likely in prone locations particularly during snow. More snowfall towards the SE Cairngorms, more showery for Glencoe and the Lecht.

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:: Webcams and Weather Stations

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

GLENCOE: All mountain webcams online and the first updated images are from the Top of the Access Chair shortly after 7am, other cams come on by 8am. The mid mountain weather station wind direction is not working, other data valid.

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