4 of the best weather apps and websites for Hiking in the UK
Before you embark on any hike, checking and understanding the weather forecast is essential.
It allows you to be properly prepared for the weather in the mountains alongside helping you to wear and carry the appropriate clothing and equipment.
Beginner hikers often make the mistake of either not checking the weather, or have a fleeting glance at the forecast for a general area/region.
This leads them to either being poorly prepared, having an less enjoyable time in the hills, and putting their own lives and others at risk.
In this blog I list the four apps and websites I regularly use to help plan my hikes and monitor the weather when I am in the outdoors.
At a glance:
Windy
Met Office
Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS)
Mountain Forecast
Before we go into each app, I want to outline the things I do and what I look for when I am checking weather forecasts.
I firstly use apps/websites which will give forecasts for the summits of mountains rather than down in the valleys.
The weather in the hills is usually significantly colder and windier than down in the valleys, so there is no point using a weather forecast for somewhere which is going to be completely different.
I always cross check the weather on at least two websites, often three.
I will also monitor the weather in the days and hours leading up to the hike. This will not only give me an idea of the weather conditions are going to be like, but will also give me an understanding of what the ground/surface conditions will be like if I do decide to go hiking.
Alongside cross checking multiple sites, I also take weather forecasts with a pinch of salt.
Forecasts are never 100% correct and mountainous regions, especially those close to the coast, are very prone to the weather changing in an instant.
For that reason I always carry a waterproof coat, alongside packing some extra layers (mid layer, hat and gloves) in my backpack just incase.
Below are the four things things I always look out for when checking the forecasts. These are the biggest factors which are going to affect safety, comfort, and views when up in the hills.
Feels like temperature
Chance of precipitation
Visibility
Wind speed
Windy
Platforms: iOS, Android
Price: Free
This is an intuitive free app for weather forecast visualization.
I predominantly use it to find out the wind speed and direction. The colour chart makes its extremely easy to use and understand.
I not only use it for hiking, but also surfing, cycling, running, and for when I want to fly my drone.
Alongside showcasing the wind it also offers a 7 day forecast for waves, temperature, clouds, and rain.
Met Office
Platforms: iOS, Android
Price: Free
This is the website and app I rely on most for mountain weather forecasts.
The Meteorological Office is the United Kingdom's national weather service and the app gives you accurate weather forecasts from 1 hour to 7 days ahead.
I like this app for three reason.
It provides me with all the key information including ‘feels like’ temperature, chance of rain,and visibility,
It’s easy to read and understand
You can search the weather forecast for the summit of a mountain
It will also provide you with other valuable information such as UV Rating and sunrise and sunset time.
I will always cross check this forecast with that of the Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS) which is the next on my list.
The Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS)
Platforms: Android unavailable on iOS
Price: Free
The Mountain Weather Information Service (MWIS) provides short term weather forecasts to aid mountain safety for the 10 mountainous regions across the UK.
Their forecasts contain detailed and accessible information which is very easy to read and understand.
The forecasts are largely in the form of warnings and they use wording that indicates the impact of the weather on the user.
Unfortunately their app is only available on android. If you are an Apple user would recommend bookmarking their website and using it as the information is priceless
Mountain Forecast
A website rather than an app, this is the the weather forecast I will use the least and is the one i am most cautious about.
Mountain forecast is a site which provides dedicated mountain weather forecasts for more than 11,300 major summits. It also provides weather for up to 8 different elevations on each summit.
The forecast use written and visual aids which are very easy to read and understand. The length of the forecast varies depending on the mountain and can be expanded to show more detail.
I have been caught short a few times using it, so I never rely solely on this site alone.
I mainly use this website to cross check the weather forecast from the Met Office and MWIS.
It is also great for finding the forecasts for peaks which are not available on the Met Office.
So there we have it, the four apps and websites I use for checking the weather when hiking in the UK.
Remember to use your best judgement, never be solely reliant on a single weather forecast, and always carry a waterproof coat alongside extra layers.
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For more hiking inspiration check out my other guides below
For some Welsh travel inspiration check out my in-depth guides to each of my favourite Welsh regions below.