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Boat Drinks
03-09-2007, 17:41
Where is the best site to look up weather for the next 30 days for the Southern part of the AT? And if you answer weather.com or accuweather.com, tell me how to pull up the area I need, like zip codes or the like.
Can anyone tell, I'm getting close to starting...???:D

Sly
03-09-2007, 17:55
I don't know about a 30 day forecast and probably wouldn't believe it if I saw one. Here's AOL's weather.com

Just add a zip (found in Companion) in the top right and click for a 7 day forecast.

http://weather.aol.com/

rafe
03-09-2007, 18:03
Forget the &%^#@ weather report. Seriously. Expect extreme temperatures, anywhere from 10F at night to 70F during the day. Expect sun, cold rain, sleet, and snow. I had pretty much all of the above, in my first week northbound... starting on April 4.

The Old Fhart
03-09-2007, 18:12
Boat Drinks-"Where is the best site to look up weather for the next 30 days for the Southern part of the AT?" After working for a major weather observatory for 4 winters I wouldn't believe any forecast. In 1998 when I left Springer the forecast every day for almost 4 weeks was for good weather and it rained for 23 of those days. One day the announcer on a local station who was reading the weather said the forecast was for sunny skies but noted it was pouring outside his window as he read the forecast!

Just take a small FM radio to get the daily forecast and hope for the best. Believe me, it is all a crap shoot.

Ronin
03-09-2007, 18:15
I second all of that. Wake up, walk outside, look at the sky. Better than any forecast you'll get.

Boat Drinks
03-09-2007, 19:09
Yeah yeah, It's just getting close fellas, trying to occupy my mind.... Y'all remember what it was like a couple days before your hike! :D :banana

emerald
03-09-2007, 19:42
Be prepared for the worst you can reasonably expect and have at it! If you don't freeze to death and keep walking, you'll do just fine.;) The odds of the weather being warmer as summer nears increases while the number of days to hike diminishes, but what good is that knowledge really?

You may want to put a calendar of the 1st 3 weeks of Spring on your wall, close your eyes and throw a dart to pick your day.:D

mudhead
03-09-2007, 19:55
Google NOAA. Punch in a City, St. If you scroll down alittle you will get a map with other town names. Click on a town name moving NE. That should keep you busy for a while. If you have a problem with my description, repost or pm and I'll try to be more coherent. Also fun to search for webcams, smog data, USGS real time water and ground water. Try not to get too antsy!

mweinstone
03-09-2007, 19:58
ever hear of space weather . com? its sumpin i heard on coast to coast. its like... if a asteroid is gonna kill us we could watch it live. or say a fleet of ailens are a commin. or if you wanna watch celestial events live and clear. i never went there yet but im gonna. did i mention i miss you you big fun guy you? i do. heres how i allways got wheather before i had a computor. find the area code and call a random number and tell the person the truth. that your calling at random to try to find out the weather in the area. 9 billion times out of 9 billion and one times the person is cool and wants to talk. its not only a stupid matthewski way of doing crap ass backwards, its also nuts! member the stargate episode where the asgard needed dumb earthlings to come up with an unconventional solution to their problem? cause they were to smart? well,.. im like that. the dumb human who eventualy will be called to help when folks are to helplessly smart to help themselves.

ed bell
03-09-2007, 20:00
Here is a link to the Climate Prediction Center:http://www.nws.noaa.gov/predictions.php I'd be reluctant to put too much stock in it, but it can help you out with trends in temperature and precipitation. Take care, and keep in touch.:)

Fannypack
03-09-2007, 20:07
Yeah yeah, It's just getting close fellas, trying to occupy my mind.... Y'all remember what it was like a couple days before your hike! :D :banana
Yep, go for a walk in the neighborhood....

Gray Blazer
03-09-2007, 20:12
I usually check weather.com and for lack of a better city, or should I say a city at a higher elevation, I enter Erwin,TN. I think that gives a pretty good representation of weather in the southern appalachians. Have a good hike and expect lots of rain. Don't forget to wear your gator cap. See you around Franklin.

Fannypack
03-09-2007, 20:21
Yep, go for a walk in the neighborhood....
during your walks u will be able to do allot of thinking (hopefully not mindracing), things will slow down & u will feel mentally & physically refreshed when u return home.....
and
prolly the best thing about your walks will be that u are NOT on the 'puter....

Good luck, see ya in VA

Ewker
03-09-2007, 20:39
here is a nice site where you can see the weather at the shelters and towns

http://www.sophiaknows.com/atdb/weather.php

Phil1959
03-09-2007, 20:55
Mweinstone! I drank a couple extra beers after work tonight.Could you please explain in more detail what ya mean? Thanks . Phil

Boat Drinks
03-10-2007, 11:24
I usually check weather.com and for lack of a better city, or should I say a city at a higher elevation, I enter Erwin,TN. I think that gives a pretty good representation of weather in the southern appalachians. Have a good hike and expect lots of rain. Don't forget to wear your gator cap:eek: . See you around Franklin.

I'm Tarheel Born and Tarheel bred and when I die I'll be Tarheel dead.........:D

Fly By Mike
03-10-2007, 11:37
Try Weather Underground - http://www.wunderground.com/ Type in a Zip and you'll get the next week's forecast. The site also provides links to NOAH Weather Radio - for example if you type in Franklin, NC as well as seeing the forecast you can also listen to NOAH weather radio for Northern Georgia and south-western NC. It's particularly useful for forecasting expected low and high temperatures but make sure you get the elevation for each place forecast. A rule of thumb is to subtract 3 degrees F for every 1000ft of altitude - so if its expected to be 30 degrees in Gatlinburg its probably more like 15 degrees at Clingman's Dome.

StarLyte
03-10-2007, 11:52
www.intellicast.com

http://averyweather.com

http://www.srh.noaa.gov/

also, google Chattahoochee National Forest, call the park desk too

greg burke
03-10-2007, 12:09
go to WWW.refdesk.com (http://www.refdesk.com) scroll down the right sidea little ways to the weather:you should be able get to were you want, enjoy your hike.greg

briarpatch
03-10-2007, 12:21
Dahlonega, Blairsville, Helen, Hiawassee, and Clayton roughly parallel the AT in Georgia. Franklin, NC would be the next town north.

emerald
03-10-2007, 12:38
Someone posted NOAA's link (http://www.srh.noaa.gov/forecast/MapClick.php?CityName=Suches&state=GA&site=FFC) a few days ago. That link with my ZIP code plugged in is bookmarked near the top of my Favorites and always only 2 clicks away. I use it to monitor my local weather daily.

Remember to make allowances for the ELR when using ZIPs for POs at elevations lower than the A.T.

Blue Jay
03-10-2007, 19:55
The best forecasts on the trail I've found is to ask chipmonks as they always know. The second best are from the Dark Eyed Juncos. Both are much better than the NOAA and are much easier to get. The very best any hiker can do about the weather and assure you will get to Maine, is keep telling yourself that you love being wet. In a very short time you start to believe it. Hiking becomes soooo much better after that happens.

emerald
03-12-2007, 00:43
The best forecasts on the trail I've found is to ask chipmonks as they always know. The second best are from the Dark Eyed Juncos. Both are much better than the NOAA and are much easier to get. The very best any hiker can do about the weather and assure you will get to Maine, is keep telling yourself that you love being wet. In a very short time you start to believe it. Hiking becomes soooo much better after that happens.

I buy the part about not getting too excited about being wet. Geese get wet and it doesn't seem to bother them greatly.

What I'm wondering is what those dark-eyed juncos tell you or is it just something about their behavior that tips you off? I've never sought them out for weather advice, perhaps I was wrong to discount their weather prognosticating abilities.

I would think a Blue Jay would know something about such things.;)

freefall
03-12-2007, 01:17
One way to tell if it's gonna rain all day or just for a time is to watch the birds. If it starts raining (not a thunderstorm) and the birds all dissappear, the rain will most likely end after a while. If the birds stay out foraging while it's raining, it's most likely going to rain all day long.

This doesn't work during hard downpours as they take to their nests for the duration of the torrent. And while not 100% it's darn close. I discovered it when out for day/weekend hikes but really paid attention while I was out for 4 months.

My professors say I'm FOS, that animals don't have any accute weather sensing abillities but I know what I saw.

Just watch `em, you'll see what I mean.;)

Gray Blazer
03-12-2007, 06:57
One way to tell if it's gonna rain all day or just for a time is to watch the birds.

My professors say I'm FOS, that animals don't have any accute weather sensing abillities but I know what I saw.

Just watch `em, you'll see what I mean.;)


Too bad your professor isn't Dr. Doolittle. If I could talk to the animals.

MOWGLI
03-12-2007, 07:29
On Friday morning the forecast was a 60% chance of rain in SE Tennessee for Saturday. By Friday afternoon it had dropped to a 30% chance. I hiked Saturday on the BMT and felt EXACTLY 3 rain drops. It was a gorgeous day!

I agree with The Old Fhart completely. I've never worked at a weather station, but I've spent enough time in the mountains to know that the weather is crazy changeable.

PS: When my daughter was struck by lightening on July 3 in the Nantahala Natonal Forest, there was no rain or storms forecast. It was a pop-up storm. In other words, pay attention to the skies!

moxie
03-12-2007, 08:50
I can give you a very accurate forcast for this time of year in the AT in the south."Rain, snow, hail, lightning, and warm sunny days". A small FM radio is some help but on weekends small stations often carry sindicated shows and you can't find weather. Also you may find some radio stations along the trail to be a little different from what you are listening to at home. In Tennessee or North Carolina you might find an "all stock car station" or an all gospel station. In New York I found and enjoyed the all anti Bush talk stations, Weather forcasts are sometimes hard to find. On morning I set my tent up under a fire tower about a day north of Hot Springs. WHen I turned on my radio I got an excellent weather forcast for Greenville. The only problem was the announcer failed to say if it was Greenville Georgia, Greenville North Carolina or Greenville Maine. I looked to the east and saw a bright red sky, looked to the west, saw black clouds and knew I was in for a very wet day. Once you are two days on the trail weather forecasts are useless. You are out there, you are committed. Take what you get and hike on. No weather forcast has ever changed the weather so learn to accept what you get and hike on.
Hope for:sun , but remember, without rain the water sources will dry up..... we need both.

grysmn
03-17-2007, 00:40
for the Zips usually ask the libraian. The zips are listed in The Thru Hikers Handbook by Dan Bruce. Here are the URL's to weather sites. These are the best.
Radar loop for the North east AT
http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/Loop/northeast_loop.gif
Radar Loop for South East AT
http://radar.weather.gov/Conus/southeast_loop.php

Here are URL's for various weather sites
Accu weather
http://wwwa.accuweather.com/index.asp?partner=forecastfox&traveler=0&zipChg=1
MSN
http://weather.msn.com/region.aspx?wealocations=United%20States
USA TODAY
http://www.usatoday.com/weather/default.htm

Hopefully one of these sites will do the trick.:)

emerald
03-17-2007, 10:42
If you want to know a particular ZIP Code, you could just look it up now by going here (http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/citytown.jsp). The USPS knows all about ZIP Codes.:rolleyes: Just make sure you are careful to specify a State and indicate it in BOLD when shipping something that matters to Waynesboro.;) Otherwise, you may wish you had heeded my advice.:mad:

My package, correctly adressed and shipped to Waynesboro, VA arrived at my home in PA after I completed my hike. Who knows where it journeyed, but I was glad to have returned to me a shirt I thought I no longer owned.

If you don't know that Maine is abbreviated ME, not MN (Minnesota), help with that issue is also available at the link posted above. As for VT, that stands for Vermont or Virginia Tech, but not University of Vermont, abbreviated UVM for reasons I pointed out elsewhere.

freefall
03-25-2007, 17:18
One other way to tell the weather is to check out WB. When the weather is good, the post count goes WAY..... down. :D

Good to see everyone is out enjoying the spring weather. I did an easy walk along the S. Platte from Littleton to Chatfield SP - 71* in Denver. And they say that March is our snowiest month...hmmmphhh!

Saw some daffodils in bloom and the cottonwoods are churning out pollen by the truckload- just ask my nose.