Skiers rejoice! Snow hits Lecht as cold snap hits north and north-east

Temperatures plummeted to below 0C in some parts overnight.

By Chris Cromar

October 15 2023, 12:28 pm

The Lecht Ski Centre has its first snow of the season and visitors will hope that it is like this. Image: Pieter du Pon.

There has been good news for skiers with snow arriving on the Lecht, as a cold snap hit the north and north-east this weekend.

Pictures show snow at Lecht Ski Centre, which is located on the A939 road between Cock Bridge and Tomintoul in the Cairngorms National Park, as temperatures plummeted below 0C overnight in parts of the region.

The venue, located 2,090 feet above sea level, is a popular spot for skiers, snowboarders and those looking to learn, as it is home to a snowsports school.

The smallest of Scotland’s five ski centres, it home to a total of 13 pistes, with difficulty levels including easy, intermediate, difficult and very difficult.

Snow has come significantly earlier this autumn/winter season compared to 2022, as it was a week before Christmas that skiers got their first taste of Scotland’s ski resorts last year.

This will be good news for the Lecht Ski Centre, as they will not have to rely on their £520,000 snow machine, which was bought to guarantee skiing throughout the season.

Skiers at Lecht Ski Centre. — Skiers will be hoping to take advantage of the snow on the Lecht, like they did in December last year. Image: Paul Campbell/PA Wire.

In March, it was revealed that was being stopped, with the centre being shut temporarily due to high energy costs.

Despite the snow fall last night, no more is expected today or into next week, with heavy rain and highs of 4C expected throughout the day at the Lecht.

According to the Met Office, tomorrow will see lows of 0C and a high of 8C is expected on both Tuesday and Thursday at the ski resort, with a yellow weather warning being put in place for the latter day through to Saturday.

Snow at the Lecht — The ski lifts can hardly be seen in the image due to the snow. Image: SnowGrabber UK.

Weather forecast

With autumnal weather well and truly upon us, here is the expected weather across Aberdeenshire, Moray and the Highlands and islands next week.

Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire

Aberdeen will be relatively mild next week with temperatures reaching highs of 12C and lows of 4C.

Heavy rain will hit the Granite City on Thursday and Friday, with a yellow weather warning for rain being in place for those two days and Saturday respectively.

On the Buchan coast of Aberdeenshire, Peterhead will see highs of 12C and lows of 4C, with a sunny day expected on Tuesday.

Moving southwards, Stonehaven is expected to reach a high of 12C and will have a low of 5C, with a yellow weather warning for rain in place from Friday to Sunday.

Moray

A sunny day is forecast for Elgin on Tuesday, where it will reach a high of 12C, seven degrees about the lowest predicted temperature of 5C.

Rain is predicted for Friday and Saturday in the Moray town.

Highlands

Inverness is forecast to stay dry all week, with cloud forecast each day except for Tuesday, when there will be sunny intervals.

Thursday and Friday is expected to bring temperatures of 13C to the Highland capital, with a low of 4C forecast for tomorrow.

In the far north, Wick will see lows of 7C and highs of 12C, with rain forecast to come on Friday.

Heading westwards to Fort William, it is predicted to be a cloudy week, until an overcast day on Saturday, with temperatures ranging from lows of 4C and highs of 14C.

Islands

The Orkney capital of Kirkwall is predicted to have a cloudy and forecast week, with temperatures ranging between 8C and 12C.

Lerwick in Shetland is also expected to be cloudy and forecast in the week ahead, although temperatures will be slightly colder and will range from 7C to 11C respectively.

Over in the Western Isles, Stornoway is predicted to be cloudy each day, except on Tuesday, when there will be sunny intervals.

There will be lows of 6C and highs of 13C.