•Glencoe Sledge Park

•England Club Fields

•Mountain Weather

•Mountain Forecast Discussion

•Webcams and Weather Stations

SE winds ramped up Monday afternoon and remained particularly strong on and downslope of the Cairngorm Plateau on Tuesday. CairnGorm was StormBound for the day due to the severe drifting down the Windy Ridge across the Ski Road, while the Strathdon approach to the Lecht also remained closed all day due to heavy drifting on the strong SE wind.

Glenshee however saw around 12 to 15cm of snow over the past 24 hours, with less wind, at least at road level and the A93 Cairnwell Pass opened swiftly on Tuesday morning. So far it remains open this evening, but difficult with drifting snow narrowing the cut on the Slide, do not attempt it without a suitably equipped vehicle! Heavier snowfall is expected overnight and winds are expected to pick up more for a time overnight before moderating for a time on Wednesday, to then ramp up once again in the afternoon and towards Wednesday evening. At posting the CairnGorm ski road and A939 Lecht Pass gates are closed. Check www.snowgatecameras.co.uk in the morning!

Glencoe has seen a couple of cm of new snow, enough to freshen up the firm base around the Plateau area, but the bottom of the Plateau runs remain thin and narrow. Glencoe is best suited to more advanced riders at present as the best riding by far is on the upper mountain. However most uplift with the exception of the Wall T-bar can run, with the Rannoch Button making its season debut on Saturday on the upper mountain.

Glencoe looks the safest bet for a Wednesday slide as it was open to the top on Tuesday and does not have a high level road to content with, Glenshee will likely fair better than the Lecht or CairnGorm for wind, so all depends on how much snow falls and what amount of that lands on the A93 tonight! As it has got colder through the day, snow is falling to below the lower slopes this evening where showers are occurring (currently down to and below the East Coast snowgates).

Overall because of the persistence of wind from the SE quadrant, Glenshee has by some distance amassed the most falling snow, while CairnGorm has gained masses of windblown snow from the sustained high winds over the Plateau.

All facilities at Nevis Range have been closed since Monday 5th January, including the base area. The Gondola was due to reopen on Wednesday 4th February, but high ESE to SE winds are forecast, so check AM.

:: 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, much quieter during the week, if you can take little ones then.

:: England Club Fields

Weardale was able to operate on Wednesday and Friday. At Raise the wind direction unfortunately scoured the Poma slope!

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 (850m) the temperature was -3.3°c, wind at 10 gusting 14mph. At the Top of the Access (671m) it was -1.9°c. At Base level (366m) it was +0.4°c.

The SAIS summit AWS on Aonach Mor was reporting -4.5°c. The Met Office station was reporting a variable wind at 14 gusting 52mph. At the CIC Hut (680m) it was -1.1°c. At Tulloch Station (237m) the temperature was +2.6°c.

In the East the Met Office Summit AWS on CairnGorm reported -6.2°c, while the Herriot Watt AWS reported a East South Easterly at a mean of 49 gusting 56mph, higher gusts are occurring at mid elevations in the Northern Corries. At Aviemore the temperature at 6pm was +1.2°c.

The Met Office Cairnwell AWS (3061ft /934m) reported -4.2°c with an Easterly at a mean of 22 gusting 32mph.

:: Mountain Forecast Discussion

Over the coming days a similar pattern to pre Storm Chandra looks likely to persist, FL bouncing around between slightly below and slightly above the lower slopes, wind generally from the SE quadrant and speeds fluctuating.

Heavier snowfall is forecast to push into the Eastern / SE Highlands tonight, Glenshee will see the heaviest falls of the snowsports areas, but the Lecht looks to have whiteout conditions at update and CairnGorm while not seeing as much falling snow as Glenshee, will see substantial wind transport of snow over the Plateau rim and into the Northern Corries (unfortunately with the freezing level down into the glens, that also includes landing on the ski road where the snowblower cut makes a nice terrain trap)!

In the West showers will be lighter and less frequent, but Glencoe should see a further light covering of snow for morning, and should gradually accumulate fresh over the coming days, though at a slower rate than the East.

SE winds are also expected to strengthen further overnight for a time, whether speeds peak overnight or around opening time is uncertain, could see gusts to between 60 and 70mph on the Cairngorm Plateau and northern downslopes for a time in the morning, before speeds should moderate considerably. It now looks as if the relative lull will last through the afternoon and it will be overnight before wind speeds generally ramp up again into Thursday. However, katabatic wind acceleration of the Cairngorm Plateau could sustain higher than expected winds on Wednesday, so check mountain report updates regularly! Whiteout conditions exected at height AM,

Minus 3 to -4°c at Munro Level on Wednesday morning, tending to rise a couple of degrees later or into the evening. Some mountain areas in the SE Highlands could see between 10 and 20cm of further snowfall by dawn on Thursday.

Thursday looks like it may see even higher wind speeds with Severe Gale or Storm Force SE winds widespread, but again strongest on and surrounding the Cairngorm Plateau areas and through the Nevis Range mountains. Sustained winds could reach 60mph on the Cairngorm Plateau, while elsewhere 40 to 45mph, with risk of gusts to 60 to 70mph. Glencoe is likely to see less severe winds, but with the Wall T-bar not having sufficient snow to operate, the reliance on the Cliffhanger does make Glencoe more susceptible to SE winds than if fully open.

On Thursday snow will be most prevalent towards Eastern hills, light snow showers in the West. Minus 2°c tending to lower a degree or two through the day.

Friday looks colder with between -4 to -6°c at Munro Level, again snowfall most prevalent towards the East. Severe Gale SE winds likely to continue into Friday morning, but potentially then moderating

At this stage Sunday looks like seeing a marked lull in the wind, while Saturday is potentially still pretty blustery. But it is too early to be confident in this detail! However, Glenshee and surrounding hills in the SE Cairngorms could have seen another 30 to 40cm by Sunday morning, so you want to be readying plans to put into action if the weather cooperates!

:: 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 7.45am. The mid mountain weather station wind direction is not working, other data valid.