Weather Tools for Photography

As nature and wildlife photographers, we have to accept the fact that mother nature runs the show. She's in total control of the lights, temperature and moisture in our studios, so it behooves us to study her ways and try to figure out what she's going to be up to next. But how? Where? What's the best way to figure out what kind of weather is coming?

I'd like to share a few tools, programs and webpages that I use to gather the information I need to make an informed decision about the weather conditions for a given day of photography.
 

Weather Forecasts:  

1. NWS (National Weather Service) forecasts – I'm an ex-army gov't man. When I need weather, I opt for my good 'ol taxpayer funded* NWS. These guys have all the cool equipment and the scientists that know how to use it. From satellites & radar to hurricane hunters & computer models, the folks at the NWS get the job done accurately, scientifically – and without any hype. You won't find any banner ads or campy "Big Storm" hysteria at their website, http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ . There is an unbelievable amount of totally free* information at their website, and they've proven themselves to have the most accurate forecasts time and time again.

   Secret weapon from the NWS: "Scientific Forecast Discussions". By reading these, you can gain a huge amount of insight as to why a forecast is trending in one direction or another, or why they're calling for a foot of snow or only four inches. *Highly* recommended to read when there are approaching storms of any kind. Learn to read these and you'll know exactly what's up.

2. Wunderground.com - Runner up for most accurate weather. These guys have super accurate hourly forecasts and a very impressive "WunderMap" feature that will overlay animated radar/satellite data on google maps of your location. Some ads are mildly annoying, but not tremendously bad.

3. Bushnell FXi 960900C 7 Day Internet Weather Forecaster – This thing is awesome. Thinking of picking up a second one for home. Basically, it sits on your desk and grabs the current conditions and forecast for the next couple of days off the internet.  Updates every 15 mins. Very handy to be able to look down throughout the day and see the current temp, winds, humidity and chance of precip. I love the way the backlight changes colors based on the temperature outside. Picked mine up at Amazon.com for a lot less than retail.
    
4. I also use several iPhone Apps daily, listed here by frequency of use: 

MyWeather – featuring push alerts for bad weather, clean and easy interface. Very nice full screen horizontal wind and precip. graphs.

Fizz Weather – this was my long standing #1 app for weather before MyWeather came along, and still gets the job done nicely.  Very user friendly and packed with loads of great information, maps, forecast data and trends.

RadarScope – a bit expensive for just radar ($9.99), but it's the best radar out there on the iPhone. Wish I could somehow combine this with one of the other two above.

Special Note: I try to avoid any forecast information from "The Weather Channel", "weather.com" or my local TV news outlets at all costs. They tend to lean towards hysteria with their forecasts and make things sound as overly dramatic as possible in order to get people to watch. Very important to remember that they're out to sell a commodity - not help you. They also *love* to feature drug commercials and other advertising b.s. & web banners, etc.
 

Sun & Moon Rise and Set:

Probably one of the most critical pieces of information for any outdoor photographer, the sunrise and sunset times will dictate how early you need to get up, and when the golden hours will be occuring. The United States Naval Observatory is the authority for accurate daily rise and set calculations, which can be found here.  Why use them over anyone else? The USNO serves as the official source of time for the U.S. DoD and the GPS system, keeping track of precise time determination (accuracy within 10 nanoseconds). They also keep track of stuff like, oh, celestial polar offsets and the exact orientation of the entire planet. So yeah – they're the guys to see about sunrise and sunset times.

iPhone apps: There's a million out there handling sunrise and sunset times, but two stand out above the rest: Helios and Focalware. I've been using both very frequently, and they're both extremely good at what they do. Helios is much more "sun" specific and only gives info related to the sun, while Focalware does both sun *and* moon times. Helios is expensive at $29.99, but for as frequently as I use it and the data it provides, it was worth it for me. If you're on a tight budget, Focalware isn't quite as in-depth, but will get you the correct times for a lot less, at $4.99. Both are highly recommended, see their respective websites for details.

Severe Weather Alerts: 

When the weather's about to get really nasty, there are a couple of special tools I use to keep me updated automatically:

1. Interwarn - Runs on my home PC and checks for severe weather alerts every 5 minutes. When an alert is issued, it plays a warning sound and emails a copy of the alert text to my iPhone. When big storms are rolling through, it can get a little out of hand and send quite a few emails, but the program definitely keeps me up to date of any severe weather. Highly recommended.
2. Oregon Scientific Public Alert Weather Radio With SAME - If I'm out camping or hiking in an area where there's no internet, this little radio is the best way to figure out what kind of weather is headed your way. I don't use it very often, but if the power's out, and there's no internet around for miles, this is my surefire backup to stay current and know if anything severe is coming. Again, check Amazon.com for the lowest price and quick shipping.

    

Is all of this overkill? For me, the answer to that continues to be a resounding "NO". I like being "in the loop", and in my world the weather is just as important as the type of lens you're using or your choice in studio lights. Weather will make or break any outdoor photography. Clouds, sun, temperature, rain, wind, snow – all drastically determine the outcome of any photograph taken outdoors. So to brush it off or not pay attention to it with the same amount of fervor as any other photo-gear is just asking for trouble, and usually results in sub-par photos or a really bad day. Using just one or two of the things I've listed above will definitely help you stay at least one step ahead of mother nature, and could mean the difference between a great shot and a mediocre one.