Having enjoyable tramping trips depends on reliable weather forecasting. The biggest part of this comes from your ability to interpret the professional weather forecast in relation to the localised effects for where you are going.
The best way to develop that ability is to make notes on what each forecaster says for each day into your planned trip. Then make notes on your tramp about what actually happens with the weather. Before long you will start seeing patterns that build an instinctive understanding.
Before that you first need detailed weather information. You can't get this from the brief descriptions from television or newspapers.
Five best tramping weather links
These are the websites I consult to give me the background to what is going to be happening in the South Island and Stewart Island:
- snowforecast.com 12 hr increment 7 day (the best)
- MetService.com 5 day
- MetService mountain forecasts 1-4 days
- Public access to US Navy 7 day forecasts (at your discretion)
Using these weather websites, plus a good amount of 'reading between the lines', means Honora & I can go for months without tramping in bad weather. However sometimes we actually choose to go with bad weather just to make a trip more interesting (or less crowded).
Mountain Radios
And don't forget the Mountain Radio Service for daily weather forecasts on your longer trips.
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