Ben Macdui weather tomorrow, this weekend and 14-day summit forecast
1,309 m · Cairngorms · OS grid NN988989
Ben Macdui is the second-highest mountain in Britain and the highest point of the Cairngorms, a vast granite plateau climbed from Cairngorm or the Linn of Dee.
Ben Macdui today (updated 19:11, 18 Oct): up to 3°C at the summit, feeling as cold as -7°C, summit wind 6 mph gusting 19 mph, 0% chance of rain. A good day for the hills.
Ben Macdui weather today, tomorrow and this weekend
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Good Today Sunday 18 October
Clear sky, up to 3°C at the summit, feeling as cold as -7°C, summit wind 6 mph gusting 19 mph, 0% chance of rain. Rated Good. Sunrise 07:54, sunset 18:04.
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Marginal Tomorrow Monday 19 October
Moderate drizzle, up to 4°C at the summit, feeling as cold as -7°C, summit wind 35 mph gusting 44 mph, 99% chance of rain. Rated Marginal. Sunrise 07:56, sunset 18:02.
Best day of the next seven: Sunday 18 October, with summit gusts around 19 mph and a 0% chance of rain. Peakify picks it as the day with the lightest gusts, after a penalty for any chance of rain over 40%.
Ben Macdui 14-day summit weather forecast
Every day the cache holds from today, at summit height. Temperatures in °C, wind and gusts in mph, rain as the day's highest chance. Days 8 to 14 are marked less certain: forecasts lose skill quickly beyond a week, so read them as a trend.
| Day | Verdict | Weather | High / low | Feels like | Wind / gust | Rain | Snow |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Today | Good | Clear sky | 3° / -3° | -7° | 6 / 19 mph | 0% | — |
| Tomorrow | Marginal | Moderate drizzle | 4° / -2° | -7° | 35 / 44 mph | 99% | — |
| Tue 20 Oct | Poor | Moderate drizzle | 4° / 1° | -7° | 44 / 55 mph | 98% | — |
| Wed 21 Oct | Marginal | Moderate snow | 1° / -3° | -7° | 33 / 41 mph | 86% | 10.5 cm |
| Thu 22 Oct | Marginal | Light snow | 0° / -4° | -8° | 26 / 32 mph | 43% | 3.4 cm |
| Fri 23 Oct | Marginal | Overcast | 0° / -5° | -8° | 23 / 28 mph | 78% | — |
| Sat 24 Oct | Poor | Light snow | -1° / -5° | -10° | 51 / 64 mph | 59% | 4.3 cm |
| Days 8 to 14: less certain | |||||||
| Sun 25 Oct | Poor (less certain) | A dusting of snow | -1° / -4° | -11° | 55+ / 75+ mph | 77% | 1.3 cm |
| Mon 26 Oct | Poor (less certain) | A dusting of snow | -1° / -4° | -12° | 55+ / 75+ mph | 60% | — |
| Tue 27 Oct | Poor (less certain) | Heavy snow | -2° / -4° | -9° | 44 / 55 mph | 57% | 24.8 cm |
| Wed 28 Oct | Poor (less certain) | Light drizzle | -2° / -3° | -8° | 43 / 53 mph | 53% | — |
| Thu 29 Oct | Poor (less certain) | Moderate drizzle | 4° / -3° | -8° | 55+ / 75+ mph | 40% | — |
| Fri 30 Oct | Poor (less certain) | Moderate drizzle | 5° / -4° | -7° | 55+ / 70+ mph | 47% | — |
| Sat 31 Oct | Marginal (less certain) | A dusting of snow | 0° / -5° | -8° | 35 / 44 mph | 61% | — |
The cached forecast has no freezing level; snow is the model's summit snowfall for the day.
How the Ben Macdui summit forecast is made
The numbers come from the Open-Meteo weather model for the summit's position at 1,309 m, in the mountain's local time. A valley forecast would understate the summit badly, so the wind is worked out at summit height from the model's upper-air winds: the standard 10 m wind sits over the model's smoothed ground and is roughly half what an exposed top gets.
Peakify rates each day Good, Marginal or Poor from the forecast summit wind, gusts, chance of rain and wind chill. Wind of 40 mph or gusts of 65 mph make it Poor; wind of 25 mph, gusts of 45 mph, a 60% chance of rain or a feels-like temperature of -8°C or below make it Marginal. The verdict is the same one shown on the main peak page and in the Peakify app.
"Feels like" is the coldest apparent temperature of the day, which combines air temperature, wind and humidity. On a windy summit it can be well below the air temperature, so pack for that figure, not the high.
For a second opinion before a big day, read the Met Office mountain forecast or MWIS for the area. They are written by forecasters and cover hazards such as cloud on the tops and visibility that a model table can't.
Questions about Ben Macdui
What is the Ben Macdui weather tomorrow?
Monday 19 October: moderate drizzle, up to 4°C at the summit, feeling as cold as -7°C, summit wind 35 mph gusting 44 mph, 99% chance of rain. Rated Marginal.
What is the Ben Macdui weather this weekend?
Sunday 18 October: clear sky, up to 3°C at the summit, feeling as cold as -7°C, summit wind 6 mph gusting 19 mph, 0% chance of rain. Rated Good.
Is there a 14-day Ben Macdui weather forecast?
Yes. This page lists up to 14 days of summit weather for Ben Macdui, each with a Good, Marginal or Poor verdict. Days 8 to 14 are less certain: use them to spot a settled or stormy spell, not to plan a day.
Where does the Ben Macdui summit forecast come from?
From the Open-Meteo weather model for the summit's position at 1,309 m, refreshed every few hours. Wind is worked out at summit height from the model's upper-air winds, because the standard 10 m wind is roughly half what a summit gets.