OT: Which weather forecast site do you trust most? (Eclipse)

[avalonracing]

Originally Posted by Erikg

Great thread. I really liked Dark Sky before Apple purchased. Still trying to find a replacement that shows local up to minute rain, and detailed forecast information.

Me too. The "Weather Radar" app is what I check before riding just to show where the rain is.

[charliedid]

Dark Sky was the best but I still use the Apple version as it's still accurate enough for me. The graphic layout of Ventusky and WU are too annoying visually for me.

[CNY rider]

The National Weather service.
For the OP, you can point at the spot you want the forecast for.
Then go to the "Hourly weather forecast" link and click.
Cloud cover is one of the functions graphed on that display.

[jamesdak]

I've been burned enough times by so many different sites on my pre ride checks that I honestly don't trust ANY of them. Weathermen are about as truthful as politicians.

If I had a penny for every time a weatherman or politician lied to me I'd have retired a rich man 30 years ago!

[charliedid]

Originally Posted by jamesdak

I've been burned enough times by so many different sites on my pre ride checks that I honestly don't trust ANY of them. Weathermen are about as truthful as politicians.

If I had a penny for every time a weatherman or politician lied to me I'd have retired a rich man 30 years ago!

Middle aged man waves fist at clouds on weather app.

[buddybikes]

I have a beautiful weathervane on our porch that works well

[jamesdak]

Originally Posted by charliedid

Middle aged man waves fist at clouds on weather app.

LOL, if only it was that.

But in all seriousness. They all seem to offer their hour by hour forecast custom tailored to your exact location. I check 3 sites before heading out, all say 0 % precipitation for the next 4 hours. I ride across the valley for 30 minutes, turn to head back and here comes a storm. High winds, pouring rain, etc. It's happened way too many times now for me to really and truly trust the weather sites. This isn't even an exaggeration and get's noted every time in my daily bike log.

Like mentioned in a post above, I do like the sites that let me access local weather stations. That gives me more accurate info and I just found out that UDOT has two weather stations with web camera's in the area I ride. Those show current winds, air temp, surface temp, etc and will be useful.

[SlackMan]

Dark Sky was always amazingly accurate for me. If it forecasted rain in 15 minutes, it rained in 15 minutes. Apple bought it, and I'm an Android guy, so I don't know how it is after that. That said, I am checking Wunderground with its cloud forecast and Apple weather both to figure out whether to make the trip to TRY to see the eclipse.

[572cv]

Windy is my go-to. It is incredibly versatile. Of particular interest in this thread is the ability to choose different weather models. For New England, for example, the European model seems to be the most accurate. generally. I like it well enough to have the premium version, which everyone in the family can share.

[bironi]

This is yet another instance of the individual’s area of residence.
NWS is what all other sites use as a basis.
NWS is conservative, the forecast only goes 7 days max.
Others are nice for their pleasing presentation.
It’s also good to step outside, feel the temp, wind, and look up at the atmosphere.

[capt_velo]

Originally Posted by Erikg

Great thread. I really liked Dark Sky before Apple purchased. Still trying to find a replacement that shows local up to minute rain, and detailed forecast information.

I switched to RainViewer and bought a year subscription on sale. It does the whole, "Rain starting in X minutes" thing.

[Strain]

I check several and I use the one with the most favorable forecast, ie. least windy, least rain chance etc.