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Timing of rain and commutes

Old 02-08-16, 05:32 PM
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tarwheel 
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Timing of rain and commutes

Is it just my imagination, or do rain events have an uncanny tendency to hit right during commute times? I notice this all the time, but perhaps it's just coincidence or selective observations.

I try to leave home in the mornings about 6:30 am and work about 5 pm. We rarely have days when it rains all day, and it usually occurs in bands of rain lasting 30 minutes to several hours. However, more often than not, these bands of showers seem to hit right during commute times. Today, for instance, it was sunny to partly cloudy all day but showers rolled in right about 5-6 pm. Summer thunderstorms are famous for doing this but it's the middle of winter now. It is very common for us to have early morning showers from 5-7 am, and then it clears up for the rest of the day.
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Old 02-08-16, 05:52 PM
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With the both of us living in North Carolina, we are familiar with the group of dark clouds that start searching for commuters at the end of the work day during the summer; living out on the coast seems to add the equation. However, I agree, this winter has been unusually wet; the storm you got today is part of a massive cell of high pressure that is going to keep us cold for a while. As far as timing issue goes, I'll back you up on that one too; thank goodness my ride is only 30 minutes. I usually check the radar before I take off to see how soaked I am going to get.
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Old 02-08-16, 06:02 PM
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Rain is not a big issue here in SoCal, but one phenomenon I could live without is the Sundowner winds.

Although usually associated with Santa Barbara, we get them here in West L.A. as well.

As the sun drops behind the mountains the air up there cools off and goes rushing down the slopes (and into my face!).

So annoying to see it nice and calm all day, and then these >20 mph gusts kick up just as I am getting ready to leave...
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Old 02-08-16, 06:09 PM
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I remember one day in particular. It had misted on and off all day. I go out and thro my leg over the bike and... the sky just opened up. It poured that entire ride. I get to the building and.... the rain stops. I go to work. It's blustery and there are a few rain drops but nothing huge till quitting time.

I rode home in a very active thunder storm.

That day... I will never forget it.
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Old 02-08-16, 07:55 PM
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Originally Posted by katsrevenge

I rode home in a very active thunder storm.

That day... I will never forget it.
I only have two conditions when I won't ride: ice on the roads and active lightening. I'll bet that was a memorable ride!
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Old 02-08-16, 08:57 PM
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I agree, crappy weather tends to hit during the mornin' an' evenin, commutes. It's one of those given fact kind of things.
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Old 02-08-16, 09:10 PM
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Sudden weather changes tend to occur with sunup and sunset due to rapid warming/cooling. This coincides with typical commutes.

I used to carry a lightweight rain parka that I used infrequently in Southern California, but often in the Wash DC area, especially springtime and summer afternoons.

One of my regular rural exercise ride routes heads directly east and west, with few wind breaks. On late afternoon rides it's pretty common for the wind to be in my face both directions, as it suddenly shifts directions around sunset.
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Old 02-09-16, 12:46 AM
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Originally Posted by Giant Doofus
I only have two conditions when I won't ride: ice on the roads and active lightening. I'll bet that was a memorable ride!
I was just glad I had the bike with the lower handlebars that day! Lots of 'gonna die!' an 'oh ####!!', LOL

Then I hid under a large cement overhang for 20 minutes. No fun at all.

I hate ice. It's the worst. I walk or drive then.
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Old 02-09-16, 02:40 AM
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Yesterday I had a rainy 5:00 commute but it is very rare.
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Old 02-09-16, 07:45 AM
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headwinds, too.


Actually, it's one of those Murphy's Law situations - you remember the times your bias is confirmed, and not all the other times when it rained, and you were safely inside.
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Old 02-09-16, 07:52 AM
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I tend to have the opposite experience: I'll often just miss storms and downpours, or they'll just be ramping up as I get to my destination.
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Old 02-09-16, 09:26 AM
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I work normal business hours, but not set hours. There's no doubt in my mind my dispatchers let me go for the day when they're sure the weather is at its worst for the day.
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Old 02-09-16, 09:34 AM
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For me it seems to be the opposite during warmer months, especially the hottest months of July-August. During those months I'm practically begging for a rain shower on the way home in the afternoon, but invariably it will rain before and/or after the commute, but not during. I've had commutes with the most menacing looking clouds, but then only got a couple of sprinkles on me while I was actually out riding.
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Old 02-09-16, 11:09 AM
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Originally Posted by Arcanum
I tend to have the opposite experience: I'll often just miss storms and downpours, or they'll just be ramping up as I get to my destination.
i have the same experience. i'm also in NY. maybe the mid-atlantic region to NE, we tend to miss those weather systems? the last time i had pouring rain on a commute was Dec. before that it was Sept.
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Old 02-09-16, 11:25 AM
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In central Florida, the late fall, winter and early spring are generally pretty dry except when a front pushes rain through. I have a relatively long commute and try to do it 2 or 3 times times a week. So, I pick my days to ride based upon the location of those fronts. I am not particularly fond of the cold, and I definitely do not like cold and wet rides.

During the summer, it is a different story as it rains almost every afternoon. With the longer days, I watch the weather radar and try to time when I leave for home to hit the nulls in the storms. I can see only about an hour out on the radar, but my ride takes a little longer. So, I have been caught many times about 15 minutes from home in strong thunderstorms. During the summer afternoons, the rains bring a very refreshing drop in temperature, which would be perfect if I did not have to worry about ponding water on the roads and drivers that are even more visually impaired than normal.
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Old 02-09-16, 01:06 PM
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Originally Posted by rmfnla
Rain is not a big issue here in SoCal, but one phenomenon I could live without is the Sundowner winds.
Over the past few years of bike commuting in San Diego, I have found that rain is most often on the weekends. I read something once about how this is because of higher driving on weekdays builds up particulates to more likely trigger rain on the weekends. Or Friday. I seem to be very lucky to miss the rare socal rain events, either because it's the weekend, or because it's my off-Friday (every other week). Over the past 3 full years of bike commuting, I've been actively rained on maybe 5 times max?
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Old 02-09-16, 01:07 PM
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I check an online radar site to time my commute, some days there just is no window, but sometimes there is, and my job is flexible enough that I can go one way or the other to hit the window when it is there.
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Old 02-10-16, 10:43 AM
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Originally Posted by Arcanum
I tend to have the opposite experience: I'll often just miss storms and downpours, or they'll just be ramping up as I get to my destination.
Does your toast land jelly side up as well..?
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Old 02-10-16, 10:47 AM
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I think mine must! In addition to rain generally being on weekends and my off-Fridays, there were at least two occasions where I needed to drive to work for non-rain-related reasons (probably child pickup/dropoff), and it rained on those days.

One time it was intermittently raining in the afternoon. I rode home on wet and drying streets, had to pop into the store to buy a can of something the wife needed to make dinner, was in for no more than 5 minutes, and when I came out, it was evident I had missed a passing shower!
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Old 02-10-16, 04:07 PM
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There doesn't seem to be any rhyme or reason to precipitation in the winter. It comes when it comes. It's mostly snow so it doesn't matter unless it's been snowing really hard for awhile before I leave. A light snow can be very pleasant to ride in.

In the early Spring and Fall we can get rains that last most of the day and since it also tends to be cooler, these days are no fun. Summer rains typically come when the atmosphere gets unsettled in the afternoon. Usually you can time it or wait it out. If you can't it's warm rain, so no biggie.

All in all I'd say 9 of 10 commutes are dry for me, if not more.

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Old 02-10-16, 05:06 PM
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Timing of rain and commutes

Originally Posted by tarwheel
Is it just my imagination, or do rain events have an uncanny tendency to hit right during commute times? I notice this all the time, but perhaps it's just coincidence or selective observations.

Originally Posted by HardyWeinberg
I check an online radar site to time my commute, some days there just is no window, but sometimes there is, and my job is flexible enough that I can go one way or the other to hit the window when it is there.
@H-W’s reply pre-empts what I had planned to post. I pay close attention to the weather, and I clench when the prediction is for rain; first a few days ahead of time. Then I wait for the day before, and then on the morning of departure I look for that window.

My main decision would be what to wear, and during the nice weather for my 14 mile one-way commute, which bike to take – the carbon fiber road bike on dry roads, or the beater mountain bike for anything else. I only ride the beater (with studded tires) from December through March. I can leave my bike secure at work and take a train home (including with the bike) after determination of the weather that night, and what the next day will bring.

I'm reluctant to ride in drenching rain, despite Rule 9 of theVelominati, because I once did and developed an abscess "down there" and was off the bike for two weeks.
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Old 02-10-16, 05:07 PM
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I have also noticed that the weather seems less cooperative during commuting times.

I think it is a conspiracy by automotive special interest groups getting the government to manipulate weather to get people to drive. But let's not get political.

I also think it is selective observations that make us notice the weather more at commute times.

But honestly the weather and sun rise and set time makes a difference in the weather. When I had my longer East - West commute along the river I really noticed the wind and it's shift as the ground heats inland relative to the ocean. When I moved and my commutes were later starting I noticed it was more frequently nicer than the earlier start commutes I used to have.

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Old 02-10-16, 07:02 PM
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There's daily weather everywhere. Here in Sacramento area, Tule fog is a regular feature of my morning ride. In Ridgecrest the wind would start about 10am. On the Mogollon Rim where we used to go weekends in my youth, it would thunder and sprinkle early every afternoon like clockwork.

And of course there's places like Indiana, where people said if you don't like the weather, wait ten minutes.
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Old 02-10-16, 07:11 PM
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Lately I've had the impression that the storms and hard rains are all missing my commuting times. It must be my virtuous clean living.
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Old 02-11-16, 02:49 PM
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Originally Posted by rmfnla
Does your toast land jelly side up as well..?
That's funny?
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