You Can Avoid the Rain! Weather Tips for Biking

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You Can Avoid the Rain! Weather Tips for Biking
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There are a number of approaches to dealing with
this problem
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Or the traditional approach
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Rain Jacket, Rain Pants, Booties, etc.
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Another way to stay dry
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But there is another approach, one that will
allow you to bike on most days, even ones with
rain
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Weather Radar!
NWS Doppler Radar
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Weather Radar Can Change Your Biking Life

• Since the National Weather Service put the Camano
  Island weather radar in place during the early
  90s, I rarely get seriously soaked.
• With a little knowledge of NW precipitation and
  weather radar, you can protect yourself too.

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Weather Radar 101

• Weather radars can see where precipitation is
  falling
• Can also tell the intensity of the rainfall
• Doppler radars can also determine the air
  velocity toward or away from the radar.
• Radars can track storms, fronts, and other major
  features
• An essential tool for the National Weather
  Service and other meteorologists.

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The National Weather Service has Installed
Doppler Weather Radars Across the Country
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Reading a Radar Image

• Most radar imagery has much in common.
• Intensity of precipitation is color coded
  (unitsdbZ)

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Reading a Radar Image

• Black (while in some)-no precip
• Grey and pink (5-20)light rainnot too bad.
• Dark pink to green-moderate rain (20-35)
• Yellows are heavy rain (forget it)
• Reds and high (dont even think about it)

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Reading a Radar Image

• Remember the beam can be blocked by mountains
  and is higher farther from the radar.
• Time below is in UTC (GMT).
• UTCPDT 7 hr

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Important Precipitation Info

• It is RARELY uniform, even on rainy days.
• If you can shift you ride by 10-15 minutes you
  can often miss the heavy stuff.
• Shift by 30-60 minutes you can usually do so.

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Example 448 PM yesterday-Heavy rainbut
waiting will be rewarded.
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Absolutely Dry
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The Best Way to Judge When You Should Go is To
Use Radar Animations on the web

• Available at many sites UW, NWS and others!
  Humans are very good at this.
• http//www.atmos.washington.edu/ovens/loops/
• http//radar.weather.gov/radar.php?ridATX

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Another Great Site Rainwatch
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Rainwatch
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Different Situations

• After fronts go through we often have showers and
  sunbreaks. Radar allows you to stay in the
  breaks!

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Showers and Sun breaks
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The Most Difficult Situation is When a Broad
Pacific Front or Storm is Over Us
The Absolute Worst Pineapple Express! Dec 3,
2007 But EVEN THEN, there were dry spots in the
rain shadow and some places had less rain
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Where to go for that ride?

• Using the weather radarand high-resolution
  visible satellite imagerycan tell you where to
  go for bicyclingeven when it is raining in most
  places.

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Puget Sound Convergence Zone
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Puget Sound Convergence Zone
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Rainshadows
Rainshadow
Windward Enhancement
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Rainshadows
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The end
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Our Computer Models (all online) Often Can
Predict them Way Ahead of Time