Snow forecast for the UK

Snow is forecast at 2 of our 33 places in the next 14 days, first at Inverness on Fri 13 Nov. Snow beyond five days ahead is rarely reliable.

Snow and frost, place by place

Snow totals over 14 days (cm) and the number of nights at or below freezing. Places with snow forecast are listed first.

Place	Snow days	Snow total	Frost nights	Coldest night
InvernessHighlands	Fri	3 cm	0	0°C
LerwickShetland	Sat	2 cm	0	1°C
AberdeenNorth East Scotland	None	1 cm	0	1°C
DumfriesDumfries and Galloway	None	0	2	-2°C
GlasgowStrathclyde	None	0	1	-1°C
LiverpoolNorth West England	None	0	0	3°C
EdinburghLothian	None	0	0	1°C
StornowayWestern Isles	None	0	0	2°C
DundeeTayside	None	0	2	-2°C
CarlisleCumbria	None	0	2	0°C
SouthamptonSouth East England	None	0	1	0°C
ExeterSouth West England	None	0	1	0°C
BangorNorth Wales	None	0	1	0°C
DerryCounty Londonderry	None	0	1	-1°C
LondonLondon	None	0	0	1°C
ManchesterNorth West England	None	0	0	1°C
BirminghamWest Midlands	None	0	0	1°C
LeedsYorkshire and the Humber	None	0	0	1°C
NewcastleNorth East England	None	0	0	1°C
BristolSouth West England	None	0	0	2°C
CardiffSouth Wales	None	0	0	1°C
BelfastCounty Antrim	None	0	0	2°C
Fort WilliamHighlands	None	0	0	1°C
HullEast Yorkshire	None	0	0	1°C
NottinghamEast Midlands	None	0	0	1°C
NorwichEast of England	None	0	0	1°C
CambridgeEast of England	None	0	0	0°C
BrightonSouth East England	None	0	0	2°C
PlymouthSouth West England	None	0	0	4°C
PenzanceCornwall	None	0	0	3°C
SwanseaSouth Wales	None	0	0	1°C
AberystwythMid Wales	None	0	0	1°C
EnniskillenCounty Fermanagh	None	0	0	0°C

Source: Open-Meteo. Updated 4 Nov, 13:18. Snow from the forecast model at each town; local hills will differ

Snow on the mountains

The next four days on nine summits, forecast at summit height.

Ben Nevis (1345 m)2 cm
Cairn Gorm (1245 m)None
Ben Lomond (974 m)None
Yr Wyddfa (Snowdon) (1085 m)None
Pen y Fan (886 m)None
Scafell Pike (978 m)None
Helvellyn (950 m)None
Kinder Scout (636 m)None
Slieve Donard (850 m)None

Full mountain forecast

Snow: questions

How far ahead can snow be forecast?

Reliably, two to three days. Whether it snows or rains often depends on a degree or two, and on exactly where a band of precipitation goes. A week out, models can flag a cold spell; they cannot tell you which towns will see snow settle.

Why does it snow on the hills but rain in town?

Air cools by roughly 6 to 7 degrees for every 1,000 metres you climb. On a day near 3°C at sea level, the tops of the Pennines or the Highlands can be below freezing. That is why the summit table shows snow when the towns show rain.

Is snow more likely in the north?

Yes, and with height. Scotland's high ground averages far more snow days than southern England, and the east coast gets snow showers off the North Sea in easterly winds, while the south-west rarely sees snow settle.