Valuable Travel Tools

[omegaet]

I have traded PMs with several community members regarding some sources of weather information I keep on my notebook and refer to frequently during Hurrican Season. Since I live in the tropics and my business travel often takes me into areas that do not afford the most up to date weather information, I like to have immediate access to independant data.My two favorite sitesare StormPulse http://www.stormpulse.com/and NOAA http://www.noaa.gov/

[bonniejoy03]

Hi O. Thanks. I tend to start with Weather.com but it seems to general for the places we visit. Noaa helps pinpoint your location. Thanks for the tip. We just returned from Virgin Gorda and pretty much dodged the last 4 hurricanes. Unfortunately we had no computer or TV so just relied on a radio station for some minor updates!

[Mountie]

omegaet, why not just use the weather channel like the rest of us?

[kyshel]

I absolutely trust weather.com--no matter where I go, it's always partly cloudy and a 30% chance of precipitation...
(does anyone detect a bit of sarcasm?)

[omegaet]

mountie, occasionally, we travel todestinations that mayoffer Internet access, but the weather.com forecast for the region is not too detailed. In some of these places, the TV (when available), may provide the same level of weather information as kyshel mentioned in the previous posting, but in some language with which we have greatdifficulty.

Dressing incorrectly for a day outside can be a big mistake.

I am reminded of a basic forecasting system explained to us by one of our guides while we were trekking in Patagonia. He handedeach ofa printed card to use every morning when we inevitably inquired about the weather for the day and how we should dress.

After breakfast, he would lead all of us to a flat grey slab of granite about the size of a football and would direct us to observe it for a couple of minutes and then check the index cards he had given us.

The informationwas printedas follows:

Patagonian Weather Forecast Rock
Observe RockCompare IndexCalculate Weather
Rock is dry & casting shadow = No Rain & Sunny (wear sun protection)

Rock is dry & casing no shadow = No Rain & Cloudy

Rock is Wet = Rain (watching your footing on trails)

Rock is Spotty White on top = Light Snow (watch your footing on trails)

Rock is Totally White on top = Heavy Snow (watch for avalanche warnings)

Rock is not moving = Light Winds

Rock is modestly rocking = Moderate Winds (tether sunglasses)
Rock is violently rolling about= Strong Winds (take care while hiking and be mindful of others whilerelieving yourself)

[jsattapr2]

omegaet, as a fellow outdoor adventure traveler, I had to laugh at the Patagonia Weather Rock story. Yes, most of us do tend to take the weather for granted when we travel.