Which weather source do you trust ?

[anton_r]

Well,

I want to ride to Smoky Mountains next week, keep checking weather everyday  ... yesterday there was rain 3 days in a row , now just some t-storms on Tuesday and little rain on Thursday ...  

And our weather ... yesterday morning was checking out today - said all day rain, today its says - all day sun  ...  I am constantly checking weather.com and accuweather.com ... are there any more accurate sources or they take their information from all the same source ? (Though weather and accuweather often differ from each other)

Anton.

[Mark Milanowski]

Joanna George is the official forcaster for Region IV.

She does a great job.

You need an in to get her personalized forcast. I can't help with that.

[lostpckt]

After having lived in the NW for 4 years, I stopped trusting "forcasts". I generally look at the radar (visible and doppler) and make my own best guess. It generally works pretty well.

[dm_gsxr]

+1 I use http://www.wunderground.com and click on the radar pic to see the local weather. Forecasts are only accurate for a week or so, after that it's best guess so I just pack what I need and continue on

Carl

[BHW]

None. I trust none of them anymore. I think weatherpeople have become too reliant on computer models, and have lost the knack for predicting weather. Our local forecasters have been wrong almost every day for 3 weeks straight...whether it's 10* wrong in temp guessing, or calling for rain that never happens, saying zero chance of rain and it pours, etc. I've lost all faith. I have a thermometer on my porch, and access to several good radars online, I check weather myself.

[Ant]

My hand/head/eyes. Look out a window and I trust what I see, stick my head/hand outside and see if it gets wet. Thats all the forcasting I trust... goddamn unpredictable British weather    

[falcofred]

This site shows accurate radar, I'll check it out before a ride.
http://www.nws.noaa.gov/
I NEVER listen to the weather forecast, they are so pessimistic, always predicting rain, especially those little icons of clouds and lightning. They'll post the little icon of the rain and lightning, then when you check into the detail forecast, it's only a 15%-25% chance of rain. I think it has to be a 0% chance for them to post the sun icon.

If you listen to the weatherman, you'll never ride. Get yourself an Aerostich, some rain gloves, gortex boots and go for it!

[county]

I trust looking out the window.

And, for planning purposes I look at historical average temps and rainfall.

And, I'll watch a forecast with a map showing what's coming and going.

In that order.

[Rigger]

The ONLY weather source I trust is the one that is currently happening.  And currently its snowing

[Scoop]

Here, I will use Environment Canada's website.  They are pretty good despite being a bit pessimistic about storms.  The radar is very accurate though and gives me a pretty good idea.  I used to use intellicast.com when travelling to the US.

[Scoop]

The ONLY weather source I trust is the one that is currently happening.  And currently its snowing

Gaak!  Snowing!  It is 30 here in the Great White North!!  When the forest fire smoke blows off, you can see the sun!  (30C, which is 86F)

[FlowBee]

The ONLY weather source I trust is the one that is currently happening.  And currently its snowing  

Gaak!  Snowing!  It is 30 here in the Great White North!!  When the forest fire smoke blows off, you can see the sun!  (30C, which is 86F)

25C and sunny here.

[R.Markus]

I don't bother watching the weather for trips. I can pretty much guarantee that no matter what the forcast was supposed to be, as soon as I leave it's going to drop to 35 degrees and rain the entire time.

[TheRedOnesAreFaster]

There are places that predict the weather?  Sounds like fortunetelling charlatans to me!

I check the radar, if it's available.  Otherwise, I've been nothing but disappointed by forcasts that are more than 24 hours out.

[Squareman357]

I don't trust any single source either.  I usually check out www.noaa.com, www.weather.com, www.accuweather.com, and Weather Bug, and view the forecasts for all of them, then make an educated guess out of what is presented therein.  Most of the time that seems to work out for me.  More often than not, I've found that 30% or less, and it doesn't rain, 40% or greater, and it usually does and I pack accordingly.  Good luck!

[wonderings]

I use a weather widget on my mac, though I just use it for a suggestions really, I ride weather it rains or not. If there is a chance of rain, I just pack my rain gear. Like others I just look up and around when I leave my house.

[frankt]

I use a weather rock.

[Mookie]

+1 I use http://www.wunderground.com and click on the radar pic to see the local weather. Forecasts are only accurate for a week or so, after that it's best guess so I just pack what I need and continue on

Carl

+1
wunderground is the shizzle.  I like the zoom-able radar, lets me see which neighborhood it's raining in  

[Cricket1]

What others have said about trusting forecasts is true. As a pilot, weather reports are much more critical than when riding and the FAA considers any forecast more than 8 HOURS ahead as outlook only, NOT to be used for final flight planning! 8 HOURS!  

I find that using the forecasts for more than 2-3 days out for riding is not a good idea, as it can lead to unnecessary worry.

Check the radar, and also look for big frontal passages. Other than that, ride!

If anyone is interested, a good pilot weather site is

http://adds.aviationweather.gov/

[basco]

Don't trust any of them. Weatherunderground gets their forcast from NOAA and basicly mirrors it from what I can tell. Sometimes NOAA changes their forecast and WU is often slow to respond.    WU's radar picture is a lot better and I use it. But if I am using the phone for radar then I use NOAA. The Weather Channel I use to look at weather babes but I got rid of cable now and Accuweather is cluttered with way more advertisements than useful weather information.

[Rigger]

If I want to check and see if its going to be a good night for the northern lights then I go to this site  

http://spaceweather.gc.ca/index_e.php

[CBRXXBLACKBIRD]

I use http://forecast.weather.gov

[chornbe]

I walk outside and look up. Seriously, I use weather reports as a rough guide only and try to be prepared for whatever the sky tosses my way.

[Prubert]

I check the radar at http://www.intellicast.com and go from there.  I also use wunderground to verify what I am seeing on the radar.

I found that some radar will show percip and others won't. The radar is showing it is raining at my house, but it is just cloudy.  

I use the animation to see what the weather has been doing, where it is heading and if it is constant.

Then I ride.

[IrishFazerBoy]

My neighbors trust me 100%

Get my snowblower out of storage...no snow, 60 degrees
Put my snowblower in storage...surprise blizzard, 16 inches
Start to wash the car...rain
Wear my thermals and woolie sweater...90 degree heat wave
Leave rain gear behind...flash flooding
Put on new roof...hurricane
Retar shed roof...130 degrees
Go sailing...calm muggy day
Go deep sea fishing...tsunamai...well almost

Please feel free to add your own scenarios  

[Albie]

The funny thing is hardly anyone believes the weekly weather forecast yet so many people buy into global warming.  

[PhilBiker]

In my limited experience, accuweather is more accurate than TWC/weather.com.

[jschmidt]

They all use basically the same data. For viewing, I rely on Weather Watcher -- far superior to some other menubar utils

http://www.singerscreations.com/AboutWeatherWatcher.asp

[vaxb]

If your trip is within one weather climate your trip is not long enough!!

[emf1600]

http://aviationweather.gov/, NOAA's aviation site.

I usually call a Flight Service station (1-800-WX-BRIEF) to get the current outlook, and if there's a risk of bad weather I'll check Weather Underground's mobile site, mobile.wunderground.com, while taking breaks to get the current radar.  

[daddysbike]

www.noaa.gov

[Fun Dog]

I check the radar at http://www.intellicast.com and go from there.  I also use wunderground to verify what I am seeing on the radar.

I found that some radar will show percip and others won't. The radar is showing it is raining at my house, but it is just cloudy.  

I use the animation to see what the weather has been doing, where it is heading and if it is constant.

Then I ride.

Yup, www.intellicast.com.

[basco]

I walk outside and look up. Seriously, I use weather reports as a rough guide only and try to be prepared for whatever the sky tosses my way.

Use this then  

[SLK50]

For local weather forecasts I listen to NOAA on a weather radio. In about ten minutes time in the morning I'll know what to expect, how to dress, etc. Works equally well while on a trip too.
For weather outside my area or for longer range forecasts I use www.wunderground.com. You can check weather for a specific location or better yet, use satellite images to get a good idea of what the weather has been like or how it's most likely to be for a few days out. Helpful with trip planning.

[stefrrr]

None.

Prepare for the worst, hope for the best.