Despite the unseasonally cold weather affecting the Highlands at the moment, the Scottish Midge Forecast has swung into action providing details of the predicted levels of the tiny, biting insects. The forecast, which is now in its sixth year provides mapping indicating the number of midges in a range from 1 (negligible levels) to 5 (nuisance level).
The Forecast uses actual midge catch data recorded using midge traps and weather forecast data from the MeteoGroup. The Scottish Midge Forecast says that since it was first trialled in 2004, the midge forecasting system has proven to be as accurate as other established forecasts such as sun and pollen indexes and can forecast midge activity for any part of Scotland as far ahead as weather forecast data is available.
The midge forecast is available online and also via an iPhone app which can be downloaded from the website.