What weather forecast ?

What weather forecast do people use before taking to the hills?
I use this one http://www.mwis.org.uk/

Several - MWIS for close to, Accuweather for further ahead (less accurate), Met office - http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/public/weather/forecast/gcmjghxpx

A combination of XCWeather, Accuweather and MWIS

But they're all as bad as each other so I don't take much notice

MWIS for me too if its mountain based but met office for everything else

I use this (http://wdtinc.wpengine.com/energy/) for all my local stuff ,and the metoffice for all the rest

Usually have a look at a few, YR seems fairly reliable

Forgot about Yr.no. Very good forecast accuracy in Norway when I've used it and not to bad for UK either

BBC News channel (Freeview 130) has started to run a 7 day forecast at 9:55pm every night, has more detail that the usual 30sec daily forecast.
Obviously the further ahead the forecast the potentially more inaccurate it is BUT better than divining with a pile of chicken bones thrown on the ground

Meto for short range national (they are the best in the world)
MWIS for local hill info (not Meto for mountain forecasts, they don't have the specialist knowledge of MWIS)
Long range comes from various NWP models, Meto text forecast and Netweather.

This time of year I spend a lot of time watching this ...

http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/webcams/braemar.asp

Those are the gates next to the campsite yes?

Hedley Heap said:

Those are the gates next to the campsite yes?

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Yep, handy to know what the snows levels are likely to up that way, I do like a cold trip up Glen Derry or Quoich

Magic seaweed ..seems accurate enough

Is that like the string weather station.
If the string is wet it's raining.
If the string is damp it's drizzling.
If the string is hanging straight down it's still.
If the string is hanging horizontal it's windy.
If the string is dry it's warm.
If the string is hard to see it's foggy.
If the string is white it's snowing.
If the string is smoking it's lightening.
If the string has gone you live near me.

This is usually my first stop for weather. 4 pano webcams, snow depths, avalanche risk etc.

Weatherline is good too if you're heading to the Lakes, updated daily with fell top conditions through the colder months.

Then link won't open for me, not sure if they've pulled the plug on it now?

http://www.lakedistrictweatherline.co.uk/

Shewie said:

Weatherline is good too if you're heading to the Lakes, updated daily with fell top conditions through the colder months.

Then link won't open for me, not sure if they've pulled the plug on it now?

http://www.lakedistrictweatherline.co.uk/

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How odd. It's for a French ski resort I like

paul said:

Forgot about Yr.no. Very good forecast accuracy in Norway when I've used it and not to bad for UK either

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I second yr.no, accurate, clear, and easy to use.

J

fluffkitten said:

Server Not Found.

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Working fine for me this morning.

Hedley Heap said:

Working fine for me this morning.

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And me, they must have been breaking it last night

In theory, it doesn't matter what the weather forecast is. If you were on an extended outing, you take the weather as it comes. If you make plans more than two weeks ahead of time, it's sure to rain. In fact, an elderly gentleman I once knew who was from Glasgow by the name of Charlie Storrie, said the way you predict the weather in Scotland was to look out the window at the nearest mountain. If you can see it, it's going to rain. If you can't see it, it's already raining.

So basically the weather forecast is immaterial. But the weather isn't. My favorite places to go are mostly in Shenandoah National Park less than a hundred miles from home (at least to the entrance). If the weather is bad enough in the winter, like if there was a heavy snow, the park or parts of it will close. It can snow at the higher altitudes and rain at the lower altitudes up there. But the snow makes the trip much more interesting. I was also up there one time and had just returned to my car after an overnight trip. The morning had turned very cold and it had started drizzling with freezing rain. A ranger came around before I left and told me the park was closing and that I had to leave. So these days, I tend to plan on alternate destinations up there and I check the park's website to see what the current conditions are.