Everybody Complains About the Weather...
01-06-20, 03:00 PM
#26
Me duelen las nalgas
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Windy is about the best "free" app out there. I use on it, together with real-time data, and, of course, human expert interpretation, for offshore sailing and donate to the developers. It has a choice of models, including the ECMWF (European), which is the most accurate and is rarely available for free. It also allows you to look at all of its models in parallel to form your own consensus. It also gives you the geopotential height chart for a range of pressure surfaces, which is the most informative forecasting tool in the shed and not available in anything else below the professional level as far I know. The slider interface for all the maps is also really helpful. Add to that features like CAPE, sea temps, and wind speeds in knots (!) and you've got yourself a powerful and reliable tool for staying out of trouble.
I also pay for the ad-free version of Wunderground because, of the apps I've looked at or tried, I have found its model to be most accurate for local conditions It's a hybrid of ECMWF and other models. Most apps and the National Weather Service local forecasts rely on the GFS and NAM models, which have low resolution and simply aren't as accurate. If you look, for instance, at Dark Sky's US forecasting source, it's GFS.
I also pay for the ad-free version of Wunderground because, of the apps I've looked at or tried, I have found its model to be most accurate for local conditions It's a hybrid of ECMWF and other models. Most apps and the National Weather Service local forecasts rely on the GFS and NAM models, which have low resolution and simply aren't as accurate. If you look, for instance, at Dark Sky's US forecasting source, it's GFS.
01-06-20, 03:07 PM
#27
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Yes, I agree the update has made WU terrible. I like Darksky but it isn't available in the Play store for my region. I also use the MSN Weather app but not for the forecasts, the chance of precipitation seems way inflated, but they have a nice precipitation map view which predicts regional rain for the next 12 hours so I can watch the moving blobs of colour and make my own informed decision.
01-09-20, 11:48 AM
#28
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Well.... The Weather Company AKA The Weather Channel bought them out in 2012....the app went downhill shortly after 2012 when TWC bought them out. In 2015 IBM bought The Weather Company, but not The Weather Channel.
No app, just a website: https://darksky.net/
No app, just a website: https://darksky.net/
These days I use the built-in Android weather widget app, the one with the Frog. Use the Google search box on your phone to search for "weather," then click on the 3 vertical dots in the right hand corner and "add to homescreen". It's fast and has hourly forecasts for temp, precipitation, and wind for today and tomorrow (10-day forecast as well with hourly temps). Plus sunrise/sunset info. It's been pretty accurate for me to answer questions like "When is it going to rain" or "What should I dress for if I'm heading out at 7am tomorrow". And my daughter loves the different drawings of the frog.
https://www.androidauthority.com/goo...er-app-965754/
For rain, I also look at the radar or DarkSky, the mobile website version
https://thedroidguy.com/revamped-goo...or-all-1054740
01-10-20, 11:05 AM
#29
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BobbyG thanks for sharing. I was using Weather Timeline for a while with success until I got a new phone. Using AccuWeather since then - didn't care for it.
After 5 minutes of installing 14 day weather and setting it up to my liking I already am enjoying it. The free version has adds but I'll probably pay a couple bucks for the add free version if I'm still enjoying it.
There are a few quirks - my location shows up in Spanish even though I have language set to English and everything else in UI shows up in English!
Quick to load radar too, which I use a lot as I'm a bike commuter.
After 5 minutes of installing 14 day weather and setting it up to my liking I already am enjoying it. The free version has adds but I'll probably pay a couple bucks for the add free version if I'm still enjoying it.
There are a few quirks - my location shows up in Spanish even though I have language set to English and everything else in UI shows up in English!
Quick to load radar too, which I use a lot as I'm a bike commuter.
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01-12-20, 08:04 PM
#31
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I avoid their app and instead just go to the full WU site through Google Chrome on my android phone. I just have a link to the specific WU page I want on my homescreen. Easy.
01-12-20, 10:01 PM
#32
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Everybody Complains About the Weather...
IMO Doppler is the most beneficial for making more immediate go-no-go decisions. The Weather.com Doppler also projects images at about hourly intervals for about five hours into the future, and can show upcoming windows of opportunity. It covers a swath wide enough for a one day ride, but at a scale convenient for my 14 mile commute.
Predictions themselves of up to five days seem most accurate for good weather, and bad weather predictions at least set me up to anticipate. Immediate and hourly upcoming temperatures and conditions for the next 24 hours are displayed and are pretty accurate.
Why would anybody pay for weather apps when you can get free local weather report through google or a local news station ??
As a cycle commuter with convenient Commuter Rail alternative, I check Weather.com forecasts starting five days prior. On the day of a ride, if it looks questionable I check current Doppler to decide, and depending on the conditions if I ride in the rain I use my beater road bike.
For a recreational ride or extended training ride, I probably won’t go.My preference for "dry" roads extends to those I consider "damp," with no puddles and no active rain.
For a recreational ride or extended training ride, I probably won’t go.My preference for "dry" roads extends to those I consider "damp," with no puddles and no active rain.
Predictions themselves of up to five days seem most accurate for good weather, and bad weather predictions at least set me up to anticipate. Immediate and hourly upcoming temperatures and conditions for the next 24 hours are displayed and are pretty accurate.
The Doppler looked threatening, and sky was cloudy at 6 AM in Kenmore Square, so I took the beater bike and brought my rain gear to work, but got no rain. In any case I have the rain bike to take home to keep the road bike clean if it still rains later.
Just this year [2009] inspired by BF I have accepted riding in the rain. I used to consider it a game: if I rode and it rained, or I didn't ride and it didn't rain, I lost; if I rode with no rain or didn't ride and it rained, I won. Now I win or lose depending if I ride with the appropriate bike: beater in the rain, road bike when dry.
Just this year [2009] inspired by BF I have accepted riding in the rain. I used to consider it a game: if I rode and it rained, or I didn't ride and it didn't rain, I lost; if I rode with no rain or didn't ride and it rained, I won. Now I win or lose depending if I ride with the appropriate bike: beater in the rain, road bike when dry.
Last edited by Jim from Boston; 01-13-20 at 06:32 AM.
01-12-20, 11:20 PM
#33
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"Everybody Complains About The Weather" is the subtitle of the How Was Your Commute Today thread
Thank you for the Twain reference too.
Thank you for the Twain reference too.
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Genesis 49:16-17
Genesis 49:16-17
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01-13-20, 07:35 AM
#34
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