What do you use for weather forecasts?

Gizmodo

I was just wandering what web sites/tv channels/phone or other services people use for planning their outfit for a ride - I know, sticking your finger in the air!

This one shows you the rain radar images for the last few hours so that you can make your own mind up on the chance of rain:

http://www.raintoday.co.uk/

What do you use?

mattshrops

I'm liking that site. will have a play later, cheers.

I normally just use http://www.bbc.co.uk
usually pretty accurate -for next day at least

Bobbinogs

The bbc just take the data from the met office and don't actually update their sites that often.

I find the met office site itself to be very good since it does get updated every few hours and the wind forecast is very good (albeit sometimes depressing):

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/ ... _wind.html

danowat

Looking out the window and guessing is just as accurate as any forecast.

Peddle Up!

danowat wrote:

Looking out the window and guessing is just as accurate as any forecast.

Add in a bunch of seaweed over the back door and you have a system that will beat the Met Office every time. Really. :roll:

Ciaran Hampson

Met office website is the one all stations take theirs from if you use you post code it gives a pretty close idea of conditions, I would suggest however you check the night before a ride as it is updated quite often

kettrinboy

Ive used Metcheck for a while now but just lately it keeps crashing my browser, will have to try deleting the link and reloading it, but when its working its pretty good, theres a feature where you can check what conditions were for the previous 24 hrs, so you can see how strong that head wind was that knackered you on your ride.

Garryboy

I've found xc weather to be fairly accurate over last couple of months, for next 2 days at least. Have quiet detailed wind forecast too

unixnerd

This is actually the mountain forecast but it's the only one I've seen that tends to get it right and there's lots of detail:
http://www.mwis.org.uk/uqhpkhrvmoq/EH.PDF

Mettan

kettrinboy wrote:

Ive used Metcheck for a while now but just lately it keeps crashing my browser, will have to try deleting the link and reloading it, but when its working its pretty good, theres a feature where you can check what conditions were for the previous 24 hrs, so you can see how strong that head wind was that knackered you on your ride.

Same - sometimes the site doesn't serve any pages at all - just blank (as said good site though when working).

sungod

for the answer to "will it be sunny", this is the best...

http://oiswww.eumetsat.org/IPPS/html/MS ... /index.htm

...just run the animation back a few hours, you can see where the cloud is going and how it is developing, undates every hour, for night use the ir imagery

plenty of times the bbc, met office etc. claim it'll be sunny, but if meteosat shows extended cloud cover, then that is really how it will be

conversely, this morning the bbc forecast cloudy for where i am, but meteosat showed cloud clearing back, just had a few hours out in the lovely sun

it's not much use for knowing if it'll rain, or be windy, but it's the sun i'm interested in

Ginnel

Buys Ballot's Law is as good a weather forecast as any, you can do it yourself

http://tinyurl.com/3hsmo5g

and

http://tinyurl.com/3zkjo9m

bendertherobot

http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/

For expert maps (Particularly the GFS UK precip forecast)

then, on the day, some playing around with the Met Office Beta rainfall radar. But only where the rain IS not where it might go (use your head for this, if you scroll on one frame and there's mega blue where there was none before that's cos it's based on prediction not what is actually happening).

Lucky Douglas

Met office is the one i use most, but it seems to interpret the data more pessimistically than most.
Their phone app is really handy - big thumbs up

Ezy Rider

I devised my own method :

1) Open door
2) Go outside and walk about
3) If its raining or howling wind, go back inside and moan about it
4) If its ok, get on bike and ride and be happy

Works for me

anto164

I tend to use a mix. (Average of the two)

www.metcheck.com. This one tends to have an optimistic view of the weather, but can be hit and miss as to whether the site works

and

www.Metoffice.gov.uk. More realistic and if you looked at this, it'd be wet all the time.

I also stick my head out of the window and take a guess when i'm just about to leave the house.

MountainMonster

I look out the window.

navrig

This is a good site:

http://www.yr.no/

neilo23

I go with the window technique. If you're planning a barbecue the weather may be important. For riding a bike you only need to know if you will need a jacket, leg/arm warmers, overshoes etc. There is, apart from 6' of snow, no excuse for not riding. At least not in terms of weather .

geebee2

I use this

http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/uk/ ... ather.html

Keep a short cut and check it almost every time I go out.

Use it to decide which bike ( I don't take best bike if rain is forecast ), whether I need a mac, whether I need mudguards for a club ride.

It's pretty damn good - very rarely gets things wrong.

izzy Eviel

I can ride in any weather. Apart from wind. Yet to find a website that gets wind speed accurate.

izzy Eviel

I can ride in any weather. Apart from wind. Yet to find a website that gets wind speed accurate.

neilo23

But..the reason I think like this is because I grew up in the ol ddays: Bernhard Hinault lost the feeling in a couple of fingers due to a very cold Paris Roubaix. My dad was a farmer. A bit of "weather" is not an excuse for him not to work
. I am a tough guy (when it comes to cycling) and enjoyed riding through Austira in a snowstorm:(160 km) I thought that I was riding like one of the greats. Unfortunately I am not so talented. We will ride a "tour" mountain and take an hour longer than the pros, but we hesitate when the weather is bad. It is the same thing: true grit . do not discusss the weather: you ride, or you don't
:-)

Gizmodo

Thanks for all the replies, there are some useful web sites in there.

Having a 7am ride planned for this morning, I looked at several sites last night and they all said the rain would clear by about 5am this morning - then I watched the weather on BBC 1 and they said the rain would start about 7am. Needless to say I got very wet - but I still went.

I don't mind the weather, but I do like to know how to dress before I leave the house.