WeatherSpark—A Handy Tool

Temperature Screen Shot from WeatherSpark

Part of every long distance ride involves weather, good or bad, sunny or rainy, clear or foggy. It's wise in the planning stages to consider the possible weather conditions you may encounter on the road.

I had been starting research on a possible ride out to Idaho, and possibly the Northwestern US coast, when I stumbled upon a website that should prove to be a very handy tool when planning extended rides. The site is weatherspark.com and it contains just about any weather information you may want for places all over the map.

Another Screen Shot Showing Wind Speeds and Directions

I was planning the ride to leave Florida late May or early June, so when I found WeatherSpark I clicked a few buttons and got numerous charts for the typical weather in Nampa, Idaho in June. The site lists and charts temperatures typical for that time of the year by date with a low average and high and percentage of time you could expect each temperature range. It not only did this for temps, but also for tons of other data such as how likely you woudl be to have sunny skies or cloud cover, sunrise and sunset times, cloud cover, precipitation, hunidity, dew points, and wind speeds and directions.

Using Weather Spark can give you a really good idea of the kind of weather you'll likely encounter on the route you'll be taking at the time of year you'll be on the road. Of course, knowing if there is any chance of cold weather or if you can expect warm days every day will help you plan your packing. A look at the charts might help you decide whether the time you picked is ideal or if perhaps you should delay departure for a time.

Take a look at WeatherSpark. You do have to deal with ads scatttered here and there but the useful information make sup for that. I think you'll find it a very handy tool to help you plan the optimum road trip.