Mountaineers can now get MWIS forecasts on Internet-enabled phones

Mobile phone users can now forecasts from a dedicated mountain weather service.

The Mountain Weather Information Service, an independent meteorological site offering detailed information for hillwalkers and mountaineers, now offers a service for Internet-enabled phones. The move is part of a rejig of the site, introduced this week.

Users of the MWIS can now click on a map to take them to forecasts for one of the eight upland areas covered by the service.

Forecasts for areas, five in Scotland, two in England and one for north Wales, are also available directly as a web page, in addition to the PDF format with which regular MWIS users will be familiar. Weather reports for the Scottish mountain areas and the Cumbrian fells are produced each day, while weekend forecasts are created for the Peak District and Snowdonia.

Forecasts for the current day and following two days are displayed, with main updates occurring about 4.30pm each day.

The service, which includes animated synoptic charts, is funded by sportscotland in association with the Mountaineering Council of Scotland.

• Outdoor enthusiasts can look forward to a warmer, drier summer, if Met Office forecasters are to be believed.

The Government’s official forecasting body’s seasonal forecast says a ‘barbecue summer’ is odds on, with rainfall near or below average and temperatures higher than the last two dismal summers during the next three months.

Chief meteorologist, Ewen McCallum, said: “After two disappointingly wet summers, the signs are much more promising this year. We can expect times when temperatures will be above 30C, something we hardly saw at all last year.”

However, the Met Office says heavy downpours can still be expected from time to time, but a repeat of the wet summers of 2007 and 2008 is unlikely.

Government services director, Rob Varley, said: “Our long-range forecasts are proving useful to a range of people, such as emergency planners and the water industry, in order to help them plan ahead.”

However, he warned: “They are not forecasts which can be used to plan a summer holiday or inform an outdoor event.”