•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

Currently limited beginner terrain on offer at the 3 Eastern areas, mainly on machine made snow. The Glencoe sledge park is open for family fun in the West and is included in the price of a chairlift ticket.

AMBER WARNING for snow covers the 3 Eastern snowsports areas from noon Friday through Saturday. At update on Thu evening, the A939 Lecht Pass and A93 Cairnwell Pass were closed overnight due to drifting snow.

The start of 2026 saw the New Year bring new weather, with much colder air now established across Highland Scotland, with the freezing level already at the surface away from immediate coastal terrain with onshore winds. Plenty of squally convective snow showers are piling in on the NNW wind and the frequency and intensity of these are set to pick up during Friday morning.

At dusk on New Years Day there had not yet been any change in the limited open snowsports terrain. Gale to Storm Force winds have scoured more exposed and higher terrain from the now powdery new snow in the cold temperatures, but wind speeds should moderate somewhat for Friday, so snow should begin to stick / accumulate more widely. On CairnGorm the Traverse was the area catching the most drifting snow on Thursday given the wind direction. Zig Zag fences should also begin to catch a fair bit, so while the wind direction isn?t the best for CairnGorm, we hopefully may see some more terrain come into play over the next 2 to 3 days as snow accumulates and wind speeds tend to ease.

At this stage the Lecht and CairnGorm look likely to catch the most snowfall over the coming days out of the five snowsports areas. Favoured areas with onshore winds into upland terrain could see up to 40cm of new snow during the Amber warning period, and the mesoscale models are indicating the potential for upwards of 60 to 70cm of falling snow at the Lecht by dusk on Monday!

However, in these convective shower setups it can be hit or miss and exact wind direction can be critical. Troughs / fronts or even potential mesoscale convective features / polar lows could form in the very unstable Northerly as very cold air aloft moves over still relatively warm sea surface temperatures around Northern Scotland. These could bring more widespread snowfall and potentially change the onshore wind direction, shifting the focus for the heavier snowfalls over the coming days.

On CairnGorm snowsports passes are sold out for Fri through Sunday as things stand at update, however if more terrain opens this will be reviewed. The final holiday twilight snowsports on the lower learning zone are cancelled due to forecast wind speeds.

Glenshee has the Dink Dink and beginner rope tow operating. These have a good base of machine made snow. During the holidays pre-booking lift tickets is advisable due to limited slope capacity at present. Plastic Slope Poma run close to being ready for some limited progression terrain. Light covering of windblown snow elsewhere across Glenshee.

At Glencoe, the Sledge Park is now open daily (wind permitting). 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. White Corries Cafe at the base is now open 8am to 8pm daily. The chair closed early on Hogmanay and New Years day due to high wind, but wind speeds should moderate post dawn on Friday and further into the weekend.

The Nevis Range Gondola is presently open daily (wind permitting) with the last gondola up at 3.45pm and last down at 4pm until Sunday 4th January, after which all facilities at Nevis Range will be closed until further notice.

:: England Club Fields

The three Pennine Clubfields all enjoyed a November start to their season, with Allenheads and Weardale notching up the first lift served UK snow turns of the season. Current forecast model data indicates little if any snowfall for the Club Fields in the next 4 to 5 days, such is often the nature of showery airflows directly out of the Northern quadrant. However, significant troughs of frontal systems could pop up in such unstable flows at fairly short notice.

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 6pm in the West at the Glencoe SSC hut at 850m the mid mountain temperature was -4.2°c, wind at 29 gusting 64mph. At Base level it was 0°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -6.8°c. The Met Office station was reporting a North West wind at 25 gusting 34mph. It was -5.2°c at 680m at the CIC Hut. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was -0.3°c.

In the East the CairnGorm the Met Office Summit AWS reported -7.1°c with a North Westerly at a mean of 31 gusting 52mph. Aviemore was at -0.4°c at 6pm.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS (3061ft /934m) reported -6.5°c with a NNW wind at a mean of 54 gusting 70mph.

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

2026 has got off to a distinctly seasonal start, with it now freezing at most levels and snow showers falling down to sea level. An Amber warning for snow covers the 3 East Coast ski areas from Noon on Friday through to Noon on Saturday. (A separate area of the Amber warning covers a swathe of the Northern Highlands).

By Friday 2nd deeper cold aloft will have brought the Munro Level temperature down to around -6 to -7°c, freezing at all levels. The cold air aloft moving over still relatively warm sea surfaces will drive convective precipitation, exact wind direction will determine where sees the most snowfall, and the unstable airflow is likely to see the formation of troughs or fronts which will bring near constant snowfall onto mountains exposed to the onshore wind. These are most likely to be the hills of the Northern Highlands and the Northern Cairngorms, the latter catching convective showers moving in from the Moray Firth.

Wind at Munro Level will be Severe Gale to Storm Force for a period before dawn, strongest in the East, but should by or post down moderate to be around 30 gusting 45mph, but 55mph in and around heavier shower cells. Risk of lightning will give an additional hazard, sustained whiteout at higher elevations.

For the West Coast ski areas on Friday precipitation is expected to be more showery with some bright or sunny spells intermixed, more so to the south of the area, but visibility will be appalling in snow with periods of whiteout.

Into the weekend and both Saturday and Sunday are expected to see frequent snow showers continue, with visibility often reduced to near zero in precipitation or drifting snow. The Lecht and CairnGorm again are likely to see the most snow showers out of the ski areas, with the showers merging into longer spells of snow on Saturday morning. Still gusty around squally snow showers, but wind speeds should be less sustained than Thursday or Friday. Sub Zero at all levels, between -6 and -8°c at Munro Level.

Monday is expected to see a mixture of sunny spells and snow showers on a moderate NW wind. Freezing Level at the surface, with -6 to -7°c at Munro Level.

Early indications that frontal systems could bring more significant mountain snowfall into the West Highlands towards the middle of the week, fairly equal split between fluctuating freezing level / temperatures next week and a more sustained cold spell.

:: Webcams and Weather Stations

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

GLENCOE: All mountain webcams online and the first updated images will be around 8.15am. The mid mountain weather station wind vane failed due to nearby lightning. Windspeed and other parameters are OK.