Forecast check · 14 July 2026

Cloud inversions in the Highlands: 14 July 2026

Torridon, Loch Quoich and Tap o’ Noth

The quick answer

Yes. Nearly two days ahead, the forecast had a big Very likely area across the Highlands for dawn on 14 July, and three walkers found cloud below them that morning. Tap o’ Noth sat well inside it; Torridon and Loch Quoich were right on its western edge.

Three people, three corners of the Highlands, all out early on the same Tuesday: Torridon in the north west, Loch Quoich in the west and Tap o’ Noth over in Aberdeenshire, about 150 km apart. These used to be three separate checks, but it was one weather event, so it makes more sense as one story.

All three viewpointsSaved Sun 12 Jul, for 06:00 on Tue 14 Jul

Tap o’ Noth: Very likely
Loch Quoich: Likely
Torridon: Just outside

The first useful forecastSaved on 12 July for 06:00 on 14 July, with all three viewpoints marked. Tap o’ Noth sat in the Very likely core, Loch Quoich just inside the Likely area and Torridon just outside the western edge.

Forecast area: The Highlands; One large area from the west coast to Aberdeenshire
First forecast: 12 Jul, 07:12 BST; First useful saved forecast, the map above
Time of event: 14 Jul, around sunrise; Torridon photo at 05:57 BST; other times approximate
Amount of notice: About 43 to 46 hours; Tap o’ Noth and Torridon; Loch Quoich was on the edge throughout

What we forecast

The first useful forecast, saved on the Sunday morning, already showed a Very likely area for Tuesday dawn. Confidence was low that far out, but by 23:09 on Monday night it was high, and the area was still there in the last update before sunrise.

These maps are redrawn from forecasts we saved before the morning, using the forecast areas the site shows today. So they show what our method makes of the saved data, not necessarily the exact map someone saw in July.

Tap o’ Noth, Aberdeenshire

This one was right in the middle of it. The Walkhighlands report describes fog near Huntly, then coming out of it on the western shoulder and watching it flow round the neighbouring hills at sunrise.

The final update gave Likely at 05:00, Very likely at 06:00 and Likely at 07:00. It put the bottom of the inversion near 323 m, well below the 563 m top, though that’s a model estimate, not a measured cloud height. Our nearest forecast point was at Oyne, about 16 km away, so this checks out for the area rather than the summit itself.

The original Tap o’ Noth sunrise report and photographs on Walkhighlands.

Final update for the morning

05:00: Likely
06:00: Very likely
07:00: Likely

Archived WeatherDuck map showing a Very likely cloud inversion forecast across the Cairngorms and Eastern Highlands for 07:00 on 14 July 2026, with Tap o’ Noth inside it. — The same first forecast, for 07:00 on 14 July. Very likely across the Cairngorms and Eastern Highlands.

Beinn Liath Mhòr, Torridon

The photo here is timed at 05:57, above Achnashellach. It’s a lighter one: low cloud and mist pooled in the glens below the bigger hills rather than a full cloud sea.

Torridon was on the edge, and our nearest forecast point stayed weaker than the area around it all the way through. I’d rather show that than give every hill the strongest rating on the map.

The original Beinn Liath Mhòr dawn report and photographs on Walkhighlands.

Archived WeatherDuck map showing the Highlands dawn outlook for 06:00 on 14 July 2026, with the Beinn Liath Mhòr viewpoint just west of the forecast area. — Saved late morning on 12 July, for 06:00 on 14 July. The Likely area stopped about 10 km east of the viewpoint, inside the 15 km our alerts cover.

Loch Quoich

Jo Turnill’s photos show a broad cloud sea below Gleouraich and Spidean Mialach around dawn, roughly 04:30 to 06:00 going by the report rather than camera times.

Loch Quoich sat right on the edge all along. It was just inside the Likely area on that first map, then spent most later updates in the gold Possible fringe, dipping back into Likely a few times, including the evening before. On the last update before dawn the green edge was only a few km away, inside the 15 km our alerts cover, but I wouldn’t call it a bullseye.

Jo Turnill’s original Loch Quoich photos and report. The photos remain at their original source.

Forecast saved the evening before, for 06:00 on 14 July 2026, with the Loch Quoich dot on the western edge of the green Likely area. — The evening before, for 06:00.

Final forecast before dawn, for 06:00 on 14 July 2026. The Loch Quoich dot sits in the gold fringe just outside the green Likely area. — The last update before dawn. The dot sits just outside the softened green edge.