plexus Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 OK, Just got done looking at both NOAA and the Northwest Avalanche Center, and each has contrasting reports for Sunday. Then the bloody weather channel is wishy-washy and picking inbetween the two. So what I want to know, which do you guys find to be most consistent and correct with the weather? Mind you what the weather is like isn't going to stop us from heading out, there's only one 45-degree snow gully to the summit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomcat Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 I pay attention to NOAA's forecast only. The weather channel has screwed me up more than I can count. I stopped using accuweather.com and weather.com after many failed attempts on Shuksan due to "unexpected" weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erik Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 i just check wsdot weather report. same as noaa but easy to read, plus as a washington state taxplayer might as well make the most of my tax money! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plexus Posted February 28, 2003 Author Share Posted February 28, 2003 Erik, What's the URL for WSDOT? Also can you look at webcams on that, particularly Washington Pass? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski_photomatt Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 I never trust anything other than the National Weather Service or NWAC for local weather, and when travelling I usually seek out the local NWS office for their forecasts. The media forecasts, especially national ones are far too inaccurate. I think the forecast for sunday is giving the forecasters problems. The last few days have had precipitation in the forecast for Sunday, last night they took it out, and today it's back in. I'd be inclined to think Sunday will see a little precip, just gut feeling from watching these things. Local forecasting uses the MM5, a regional weather model fairly heavily, it is run twice daily and the afternoon run is finished about 1pm each day. Usually waiting until the afternoon NWS update gives the best weekend forecast. Depending on how into it you get, the NWS produces a "forecast discussion" which is usually helpful. This morning's discussion included statements about model disagreement for Sunday and forecasting issues. It's linked off the main NWS page http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/Seattle under public forecasts then AFD for the seattle office (AFD = Area Forecast Discussion). If you are a real weather geek, the atmospheric sciences department at UW has a page with actual model output http://www.atmos.washington.edu then go to Weather and Climate info or something like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toast Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 plexus said: Erik, What's the URL for WSDOT? Also can you look at webcams on that, particularly Washington Pass? This'll take you to the cams, http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/traffic/ . click the weather tab at the top to get to the current weather and forecast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chucK Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 Accuweather has HOURLY forecasts . Makes it easy to plan exactly when to climb what, when to have lunch, smoke, etc.!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluck Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 What's the difference between NOAA and NWAC? NWAC's website is www.nwac.noaa.gov. I'm inclined to think that they are related forecasting bodies, but they have COMPLETELY different forecasts for tonight's weather on Hood. I'm trying to decide whether to climb Hood (South Slog) tonight or tomorrow night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski_photomatt Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 NOAA = national oceanic and atmospheric administration NWAC = northwest weather and avalanche center NOAA is a huge national organization which oversees the National Weather Service, many reseach labs, the Climate Prediction Center, as well as the weather satellites (I think) and many, many other organizations weather, climate and ocean related. They are huge. NWAC is a local organization that gets funding from NOAA among others. I think (am not certain though) that NWAC's office is in Sand Point as a part of NOAA's larger complex, it appears NOAA hosts their webpage for them. All of the weather forecasters have access to the same info - this includes the media as well as National Weather Service and NWAC - the same model output, the same satellite data, the same observations. A human looks it all over and issues a forecast they think is correct. Sometimes they disagree. The weather is supposed to clear out tonight and will be relatively nice tomorrow into Sunday morning/afternoon, at least here in Washington. It may crap out Sunday later in the day. I'd imagine the weather down at Hood will be similar. If you are going to take a slacker approach and leave sometime near sunrise and climb during the day you may want to go tomorrow. If you are climbing at night, it's probably a toss up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cluck Posted February 28, 2003 Share Posted February 28, 2003 Well I am fond of slacking, but for climbing I try to do it right. We're going to try to leave T-line between 3 and 4 in the morning. That's why I'm particularly interested to know if this system is going to break up late tonight, or tomorrow afternoon. Who knows, maybe we'll get above it and get nice clear skies for sunrise! Thanx for the good weather beta! - ON Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ski_photomatt Posted March 1, 2003 Share Posted March 1, 2003 cluck - with glacier climbs I like sleeping in and letting other parties put in a boot pack It looks like showers may be lingering in OR tomorrow early morning. That's right on the edge, weather models are good, but not that good. With a confident Sunday forecast I'd say wait, but it's a toss up right now. Good luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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