App/Website/Tool for Weather in Backcountry

[JSC2626]

What apps/wesbites/ tools is everyone using to watch weather in backcountry? More specifically, how would I go about studying historic average temps and weather for areas that are not cities? I am starting to plan for a Spring 2025 bear hunt in Idaho. The unit/area I am planning on going to is pretty high elevation compared to its nearest towns. I am assuming the weather at higher elevation is going to be consistently colder and maybe have snow that won’t show if I check the local weather for the nearest towns.

 

[Split toe]

I wish Dark sky would have not went away. I used it for temperature projections at elevations.

 

[Nevwild]

Open Snow gives decent point forecasts, but tend to be off with their wind predictions.
In the field the weather forecast from my Garmin I reach has been very useful.

 

[RELIANT]

I wish Dark sky would have not went away. I used it for temperature projections at elevations.

I second that...apple bought up Dark Sky and they discontinued it as a stand alone app, but I swear apple weather even worst after "incorporating it into apple weather"

I'm still looking for a decent weather app, I'm currently using the Windy app which is pretty good for pressure, fronts, and wind, but has too many models for precip. I also use the Today Weather app for general weather day to day but dont like it as much as Dark Sky. The Zoleo and Garmin weather updates are pretty good when out of cell service for temps, but I feel that they are pretty spotty on precipitation.

As far as temps go the general rule of thumb is it will be 5-6 degrees colder for every 1000 ft of elevation gain, so figuring out the elevation of the town nearest you and then adjusting the temp based on the elevation you are camping seems to work most of the time (for us town is about 2000 feet lower than camp so about 10 - 12 degrees warmer. One thing though micro climates from local topography can make a big difference, so if you are in a basin or narrow valley with mountains all around it could get even colder than you might think due to all the cold air sinking down the mountains.

 

[RELIANT]

Also NOAA is a good resource for looking at historic snow coverage:

National Snow Analyses - NOHRSC - The ultimate source for snow information

www.nohrsc.noaa.gov

 

[JSC2626]

Open Snow gives decent point forecasts, but tend to be off with their wind predictions.
In the field the weather forecast from my Garmin I reach has been very useful.

Thanks, I’ll check out Open Snow. Planning on buying an Inreach later this year. Good to know it will help out on the weather side

 

[Hectocotylus]

You can look for snotel locations near or at similar elevations and area as your hunting spot for historical info. The app I like for mountain weather is a using a mix of windy.com and mountain forecast.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Nevwild]

Thanks, I’ll check out Open Snow. Planning on buying an Inreach later this year. Good to know it will help out on the weather side

Open snow is especially useful if you’re near a ski area. They are snow sport based app and consolidate a large amount of snowtel data, webcams at ski areas, and have their own model. That model lets you drop a pin and get weather predictions at that spot. It’s great. Like I said they overestimate wind though.

The Garmin is good, basic info, but it costs You every time you update. Good for when you’re deep for days.

 

[AZ8]

windy.com is a cool app for real time wind in a particular area. And for wind forecast.

 

[kentuckybowman]

Try mountainforecast.com.

 

[kentuckybowman]

Mountain-forecast

 

[Customweld]

The SNOTEL sites give you a lot of historical info for that particular site. Idaho mountains are funny due to the wild variations of snow depth across even small areas.

NWCC iMap

nwcc-apps.sc.egov.usda.gov

 

[Beagle1]

RadarScope for storm fronts /precipitation.

 

[IDLassie]

I just use NOAA and click on their map for the local area.

JSC2626, not sure where or when but right now the snow line is 7300 ft in central ID

 

[RS_Non-Res]