 Poster: A snowHead
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What are the best weather apps/sites out there for the Alps (and US)? When I went to Warth over Xmas both Apple and Dark Sky turned out to junk, any good alternatives?
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Depends where you are. Anything that claims to be global is probably junk. In Switzerland the MeteoSwiss app is pretty accurate. Other countries will have their own I guess.
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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| telford_mike wrote: |
| Depends where you are. Anything that claims to be global is probably junk. In Switzerland the MeteoSwiss app is pretty accurate. Other countries will have their own I guess. |
Ok thanks. Thoughts on Bergfex?
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Bergfex snow forecasts are very optimistic.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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| musher wrote: |
| Bergfex snow forecasts are very optimistic. |
How much optimistic? So much that they're worthless?
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yr.no
iski apps are usefull as they have weather + ski trails
snow-forecast & mountain-forecast websites
wxcharts.eu
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@südtirolistdeutsch,
In my experience when they forecast snow next week it only happens about 50% of the time, and you only get half of what is forecast. If they forecast snow tomorrow it will happen, just not as much as they say. So not dissimilar to any optimistic weather forecast really. Still there is plenty of other useful stuff on the site.
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Really like Windy.com, overlays are rather fun...
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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+1 for MeteoSwiss in Switzerland: This is configurable in terms of preferred locations and you can set automated alerts based on different criteria. The rainfall animation gives a good picture of current conditions and up to 48 hrs ahead.
and MeteoFrance in France. Like the Met Office, these are the organisations that collect the base data anyway, so I think it's worth going to the original provider. Everyone else is just getting fed the same info.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Meteo France app also gives you the official daily avalanche risk charts and narrative, area by area.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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They're all pointless more than 3 days out
I find wepowder superb, and he only commits to specifics about 3 days out. He interprets the data and combines it with local knowledge of resorts and micro weather conditions particular to regions and valleys, and in my experience has been uncannily accurate, whereas the other sites just puke out the models, not to say that can't be reasonably accurate
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Did anyone forecast a 5 year thread resurrection?
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You know it makes sense.
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I found Meteo France was incredibly accurate over the last few weeks, pre and during our trip to Val Thorens.
Both on the dates/timing of precipitation and daily temperatures.
Snow-Forecast and BBC (Meteo Group?) for some reason were way off the mark. Genuinely I saw +20c daily maxima on BBC several times, you could knock 15c from that.
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@Snow&skifan,
BBC and France Meteo, like many general and national weather forecasters, fail to take the altitude into account for temperatures. They're showing a forecast for the area, not your specific location even if they seem to say otherwise.
So here I know that most weather apps will be about right down in the valley, but we need to subtract about 8 degrees to estimate what it is here (rule of thumb is a one degree drop per 100m altitude, we're 800m higher than the valley).
MeteoSuisse is an exception to that rule, but of course not as good for the actual mountain forecast as snow-forecast, bergfex and the like,
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Poster: A snowHead
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What you really need to do is follow someone who interprets all the various computer models and then makes an educated prediction on the back of these . As @8611, says anything three days out is fairly pointless but you can spot trends . When I go to the French alps which I do regularly I take information from these
Meteo Tarentaise , posts on Facebook and is now currently installing a network of temperature gauges across the area at various heights to help , doesn’t do long term .
@chocksaway on the Tignes /Val thread he obviously has a meteorological back ground and very kindly posts most days a forecast on this thread .
https://chamonix-meteo.com/chamonix-mont-blanc/weather/forecast/morning/5_days_weather_forecast.php
Very good high mountain forecast for Cham
France Meteo but the long range seems to just use the GFS model
We powder is another one but I tend not to follow them because it’s the same as the others above .
And I particularly like this https://www.meteociel.fr/modeles/gfs/precipitations/3h.htm which is the rainfall model of the GFS model . I like this for trying to get a feel long term .
In the uk I follow https://www.theweatheroutlook.com/. Brian Gaze is very good and various other amateurs forecasters on Twitter .
The general theme is I glean all my information from mostly amateurs who like to post and do the legwork for me .
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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Ps and on snowheads the weather outlook thread and @polo on the Avoriaz thread
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Bergfex gets it right most of the time, at least in Austria & Bavaria
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| Chaletbeauroc wrote: |
@Snow&skifan,
BBC and France Meteo, like many general and national weather forecasters, fail to take the altitude into account for temperatures. They're showing a forecast for the area, not your specific location even if they seem to say otherwise.
So here I know that most weather apps will be about right down in the valley, but we need to subtract about 8 degrees to estimate what it is here (rule of thumb is a one degree drop per 100m altitude, we're 800m higher than the valley).
MeteoSuisse is an exception to that rule, but of course not as good for the actual mountain forecast as snow-forecast, bergfex and the like, |
Interesting. I studied geography, with a special interest in climate, it was and is always stated that air temperature falls by an average 1c per 150m. Obviously ignoring temperature inversions.
Your real world knowledge rings true in the mountain settings you know well. We arrived in Moutiers on the 2 April where the transport thermometer showed +11.5c, by the time we reached the lowest part of Val Thorens where we were staying 30 minutes later, it was -2.5c.
Snow cover, aspect and other microclimate attributes come into play.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@Chaletbeauroc, if you look around there are weather apps that give predictions for various altitudes in a resort.
And @Snow&skifan, that old addage of 1c per 150m is complete bollox as I've found out over the years living at 1,400m and I've wished it was not the case so often as well !
I like lookoutthewindow.com followed by gobacktobed.com which has been the case the last couple of days 
This time of year as we're now into the Spring ski-touring season weather is even more important*, and I end up looking at a whole load but at the end of the day, it's get up early look out the window and at the thermometer and maybe a cloud radar app.
Last evening was really strange as we had nigh on heavy rain and no weather app site had that and even one radar app was wrong as well, the only one that was right was the site @Rob Mackley, uses as well.
https://www.meteociel.fr/modeles/gfs/precipitations/3h.htm
*all important freeze/melt cycle and snow transforming
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As @Weathercam, says it’s look out the window and watch the radars , interestingly the local amateur site to my area in France Meteo Tarentaise posted on his Facebook this morning the timetable of precipitation , expected amounts and rain/snow levels for the latest episode arriving this afternoon and evening in the Tarentaise . He’s just posted a couple of hours ago that the first phase has been delayed two hours it just goes to show that even in a day the forecast can change .
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