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Accurate weather forecasting

Dilbert

Speeding Up
Jul 5, 2022
44
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Anyone have good websites or apps for weather forecasting? I know it's not an exact science, but google is seriously failing me especially in rural areas or on islands. I try looking at radar on things like AccuWeather and windy for wind and those help a little.
I don't mind if the websites are in Japanese. I can muddle through the kanji by spending enough time.
I mostly go bike camping usually 2-3 day long trips. Ideally I want better information for my route so if I'm starting off in one area I know and 60 to 100 km what the weather is going to be like along that route.
This weekend I went to hachijojima and forecast rain was 10% chance light rain. but I got absolutely drenched for a solid 5 hours and that kind of inaccuracy seems to be normal with the forecasts I'm using. I feel like large cities are much more reliable.
 
I use the Yahoo天気 app. It has a raincloud radar you can manipulate back and forth a few hours, giving a good idea of exactly when the rain will hit and for how long. Also has the usual local forecast.
 
Try this one: https://www.windfinder.com/forecast/shizuoka_shizuoka_japan

I like their wind forecasting--not so much direction (tho that's important), but strength. You can change the units in settings, upper right.

Also, from there, click from Tables, to Bird's Eye for a map view. Then by moving your cursor along by time of day, there's a kind of compass rose view of the wind.

And of course JMA: https://www.jma.go.jp/bosai/#pattern=default&area_type=offices&area_code=140000

Just a guess, but JMA is where most weather sites get their data, and then add their own 'skin' to that, to make it look like their own. Same for earthquake reporting.
 
Another vote for https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html - It seems fairly accurate. But, I do find that sometimes here in Ishikawa the forecast just changes so quickly. I can check in the morning and it will look like rain all day. So I plan to just ride my trainer. By lunch I check again and the afternoon is clear. Maybe that's all of Japan?
 
Another vote for https://www.jma.go.jp/jma/indexe.html - It seems fairly accurate. But, I do find that sometimes here in Ishikawa the forecast just changes so quickly. I can check in the morning and it will look like rain all day. So I plan to just ride my trainer. By lunch I check again and the afternoon is clear. Maybe that's all of Japan?
Check their precip indicators: https://www.windfinder.com/forecast/uchinada_kanazawa

I like that it's more granular than jma--instead of showing 60% on given day, windfinder breaks it into 3-hour blocks, so you have an idea if the rain will be done early, or that it will come late, etc. It also gives a prediction of how much/how heavy it might be.
 
Check their precip indicators: https://www.windfinder.com/forecast/uchinada_kanazawa

I like that it's more granular than jma--instead of showing 60% on given day, windfinder breaks it into 3-hour blocks, so you have an idea if the rain will be done early, or that it will come late, etc. It also gives a prediction of how much/how heavy it might be.
That JMA link breaks it up into 1 hour blocks. Accuracy drops off drastically as you look further into the future, but that's why I check it regularly.

Edit: Opps, I see now this was not a reply to my post! Sorry.
 
That JMA link breaks it up into 1 hour blocks.
As much as I use that site, I'd never seen that, so thanks. For that area (ishikawa) I use the radar to see what's approaching--nothing showing now, but when it does show rain, I can usually judge if I've got a couple hours (or not) till it's here. (tho there can be some false positives and false negatives when it's on the edge) By watching what the rain does and how it moves over the last hour or few, and what it predicts for the coming hour, I know if I'm good to go.


(scroll the map with arrow keys, scroll the time with shift+l/r arrow keys)
 
Try this one: https://www.windfinder.com/forecast/shizuoka_shizuoka_japan

I like their wind forecasting--not so much direction (tho that's important), but strength. You can change the units in settings, upper right.

Also, from there, click from Tables, to Bird's Eye for a map view. Then by moving your cursor along by time of day, there's a kind of compass rose view of the wind.

And of course JMA: https://www.jma.go.jp/bosai/#pattern=default&area_type=offices&area_code=140000

Just a guess, but JMA is where most weather sites get their data, and then add their own 'skin' to that, to make it look like their own. Same for earthquake reporting.
Many thanks for that.
The 'Windfinder' site seems to be excellent.
 
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