Weather: know before you go …
Today, your weather information options are nearly endless. In addition to your weather radio, a must have device, your smart phone offers access to a multitude of App’s supporting real time weather information and programmable warning systems wherever you get a signal–don’t leave home without your radio (very broad reception) and your phone App’s! When you listen to and respond to weather information, that’s weather readiness.
More weather access:
Weather Underground offers global forecast coverage and everything weather-related.
Accuweather.com offers very detailed coverage.
NOAA’s National Weather Service offers detailed local forecasts throughout the United States.
Real-Time Weather Data offers you access to different prediction models; do your own forecasting, then check your forecasting against the pros!
Local weather forecasts have been only a newspaper away for decades but remote destination forecasts became widely available only with growth of the World Wide Web. Before leaving home or base, point and click maps make finding destination forecasts quick and easy. Just open your favorite internet site and click-zoom to your destination location for a detailed forecast and current conditions.
Today, distant area forecasts are available by mobile phone, tablet, or laptop computer wherever internet access is available.
Complaining about weather forecasts remains a favorite pastime but consumers return again and again to their favorite forecast providers because the modern science of weather forecasting is pretty good at predicting weather. Forecasts of extreme weather events are very accurate. Reliable accurate forecasts of drizzle versus rain will always challenge the most sophisticated forecast models and professional meteorologists.
Forecasts are designed for populated areas, local knowledge of backcountry areas is key:
Environmental challenges change with weather. Be prepared for the range of conditions you may experience at your wild lands destination. Forecasts are no substitute for local weather knowledge. Obtaining local weather knowledge is the first step to weather readiness. The current forecast is the second step to weather readiness. If you are traveling to a remote location staffed with outdoor professionals or even experienced volunteers, call ahead to talk with them. Remember, forecasts are targeted for populated areas, not for remote mountain meadows and desert valleys. Experienced locals can tell you what to expect in those wild places far from your arrival airport or trailhead.
Local knowledge is essential in mountainous areas where dramatic shifts in weather occur on opposite sides of mountains and at different elevations on the same mountain. Outdoor professionals and experienced locals can offer essential insights about local mountain weather patterns and current conditions; temperature extremes, snow and ice conditions, avalanche conditions, fire conditions, trail conditions, flood conditions and flash flood risks. Keepers of local knowledge can aid your long-range planning long before your departure, too. They understand the pattern of seasonal changes expected in their areas; is there a rainy season, a mosquito season, is there a deep snow season resulting in annual road closures?
Local knowledge is a mouse-click or a phone call away. Search the internet for contact emails and telephone numbers of outdoor professionals. Try calling local Forest Districts, National and State Parks, and BLM offices.
Misadventures due to inadequate weather preparations can cause much more than personal inconvenience and discomfort. Weather emergencies cause injury and death among those who don’t prepare, and some who do prepare. Hypothermia is the number one cause of wild lands deaths among outdoor enthusiasts. First, protect yourself and your party by planning ahead and preparing well.
Weather planning is essential for outdoor readiness. Don’t let your adventures become misadventures, call ahead for local weather knowledge and know your destination weather forecast before traveling for work or play in wild places. Prepare for extremes!
Tom Bain, Outdoor Readiness