How to Do Your Own Forecast (because I'm busy)
Did you know the Sun is rising earlier every day? At least around here. At this time of year. Until June 20, 2020 at 5:43 pm EDT anyway. (That's the Summer Solstice this year.) I get up at 5 AM every morning to shoot pictures -- not to blog about the forecast. So this is my notice that I'm going on a summer vacation -- from blogging about the daily forecast. Sorry. But we all have priorities. I might take it up again in late August or so -- when sunrise is later.
So, before I go, I'm going to give you the steps you need to read the forecast on your own. The very first thing you need to do it go to the National Weather Service's forecast page. The sharp-eyed will notice this isn't the page I use every morning. Take a look at the items I've highlighted (below).
Do you see the bottom arrow is pointing out this is the Thomaston -- Upson County airport weather report? That's because I typed "Zebulon, GA" into the "Location Examples" box -- highlighted by the red rectangle and top arrow. (That's where you need to type in your location.)
Where you are located determines where your weather information comes from. And from where the info is reported -- Peachtree City in this case (middle arrow). In this case, the closet weather observation point (used by the National Weather Service) to Zebulon, Pike County, GA is in the next county, Upson County. At their airport. Airports are a favorite place for the National Weather Service (NWS) to collect weather observations. That's because the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) needs to have the same weather data and they'll share the expenses of gathering said data.
So, if you want the quick and dirty version of a forecast, that's all you have to do. Click on the link, type in your location (even if it's Joppatowne, Maryland) and read what the page has to say.
As you can see by following the arrows (from top to bottom) the Baltimore, MD forecast office of the National Weather Service is responsible for this area, the Baltimore/Martin airport (KMTN) is the closest weather station and its report is currently N/A (not available). But you still get a forecast in those little weather icons all lined up at the bottom.
Who knew this was all so complicated, huh? Keep scrolling down the NWS page. There's more to see.
The area in the red box is usually all I read each day of the"Detailed Forecast". Honestly, in my humble opinion, a 3-day forecast is next to worthless. A 7-day forecast is worthless. Besides, I can't keep up with them on a rolling basis -- dropping one day at a time from my memory banks and adding in the 3rd (or 7th) day. I take it one day at a time. Sure, I sneak a peak. I just don't pay attention. Keep scrolling down.
If you *really* want to know what's going on, click on the "Forecast Discussion" link. Just be prepared -- the nomenclature will be above your head. You just learn to take in what you can and try to pick up a little bit at a time as you learn. While you're here, notice the other end of that red arrow is at "Radar & Satellite Images". And there's even more information below this portion of the page. An overwhelming amount of information. But this is page you start on.
Okay, that's it. Here's a list of links that I use for other information. You can figure it out on your own.
The University of Georgia has its its own weather reporting stations for Agriculture.
The NWS has a Hazards page. I use it to get the cloud reports at major airports.
The NWS's National Radar Mosaic Loop is one of my favorite pages. (ATC, Radar, Duh.)
And last but not least, the Surface Map. If I could only have one forecast source, this would be it.
Don Brown
May 18, 2020
So, before I go, I'm going to give you the steps you need to read the forecast on your own. The very first thing you need to do it go to the National Weather Service's forecast page. The sharp-eyed will notice this isn't the page I use every morning. Take a look at the items I've highlighted (below).
Do you see the bottom arrow is pointing out this is the Thomaston -- Upson County airport weather report? That's because I typed "Zebulon, GA" into the "Location Examples" box -- highlighted by the red rectangle and top arrow. (That's where you need to type in your location.)
Where you are located determines where your weather information comes from. And from where the info is reported -- Peachtree City in this case (middle arrow). In this case, the closet weather observation point (used by the National Weather Service) to Zebulon, Pike County, GA is in the next county, Upson County. At their airport. Airports are a favorite place for the National Weather Service (NWS) to collect weather observations. That's because the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) needs to have the same weather data and they'll share the expenses of gathering said data.
So, if you want the quick and dirty version of a forecast, that's all you have to do. Click on the link, type in your location (even if it's Joppatowne, Maryland) and read what the page has to say.
As you can see by following the arrows (from top to bottom) the Baltimore, MD forecast office of the National Weather Service is responsible for this area, the Baltimore/Martin airport (KMTN) is the closest weather station and its report is currently N/A (not available). But you still get a forecast in those little weather icons all lined up at the bottom.
Who knew this was all so complicated, huh? Keep scrolling down the NWS page. There's more to see.
The area in the red box is usually all I read each day of the"Detailed Forecast". Honestly, in my humble opinion, a 3-day forecast is next to worthless. A 7-day forecast is worthless. Besides, I can't keep up with them on a rolling basis -- dropping one day at a time from my memory banks and adding in the 3rd (or 7th) day. I take it one day at a time. Sure, I sneak a peak. I just don't pay attention. Keep scrolling down.
If you *really* want to know what's going on, click on the "Forecast Discussion" link. Just be prepared -- the nomenclature will be above your head. You just learn to take in what you can and try to pick up a little bit at a time as you learn. While you're here, notice the other end of that red arrow is at "Radar & Satellite Images". And there's even more information below this portion of the page. An overwhelming amount of information. But this is page you start on.
Okay, that's it. Here's a list of links that I use for other information. You can figure it out on your own.
The University of Georgia has its its own weather reporting stations for Agriculture.
The NWS has a Hazards page. I use it to get the cloud reports at major airports.
The NWS's National Radar Mosaic Loop is one of my favorite pages. (ATC, Radar, Duh.)
And last but not least, the Surface Map. If I could only have one forecast source, this would be it.
Don Brown
May 18, 2020
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