Thousands of young people will head to Dartmoor to take on the Ten Tors Challenge, which starts at 7am on Saturday. There are three different course lengths, of 35, 45 and 55 miles depending on age and ability with 400 teams of six taking part.

The weather plays a major role in the successful completion of the event and therefore the Met Office provides direct support to the organisers with weather forecasts from onsite meteorologists based in the event’s Operations Room.

Met Office Advisor Mark Bevan said, “The weather is expected to be dry and bright for the most part, although a few heavy showers may occur on Saturday and early Sunday, with a risk of thunder. With sunny periods, the best of these on Sunday, temperatures during the day could reach 18 or 19C, giving warm conditions for the teams. However, temperatures will fall to around 8 C overnight giving a fresh feel to the early part of the day.”

The event is organised by the Army and Lieutenant Colonel Nigel Taylor said “We measure weather conditions on the Moor at least every three hours and together with the forecast from the Met office, we are able to plan accordingly.”

“Our plan is already in operation, and the everyone taking part will be well briefed on keeping hydrated, and making sure they use plenty of sun screen. We have deployed extra water to all the manned Tors.”

The weather has had some significant impacts in previous years. In 1998, high temperatures meant there was a severe risk of dehydration for the participants. However, two years before that, there were severely low temperatures and Dartmoor National Park was struck by a sleet and snow storm which led to the military having to rescue some of the young people.

Good luck to everyone taking part and information for other events around the UK can be found on our events page.

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