Sites and Apps for Weather Forecasts
Before embarking on a motorcycle road trip, there are a lot of factors to consider: from getting equipped to staying safe, and from the itinerary to language issues. But of all these, weather concerns undoubtedly take centre-stage.
Fortunately, technology has come to our aid with websites and smartphone Apps that can provide accurate weather forecasts in real time, alert you if a storm or cyclone warning is issued, and much more.
Weather conditions vary enormously over the course of the year, particularly in certain parts of the world. Being caught unawares by sudden changes can completely ruin a long-anticipated and carefully planned motorcycle trip, but luckily a wide variety of websites and applications are available to help avoid this: the following are a few examples.
Quandoandare.info
Do you love to travel when the weather’s just right? Would you like to find out the ideal destinations to visit at any given time of year? quandoandare.info is the website for you. It reveals the months of the year during which each country is at its best in terms of the weather, in two main sections: “Dove vuoi andare” (Where do you want to go?) and “Quando vuoi partire” (When do you want to go?).
This means that if you already have a destination in mind, you can use the site to determine the best time to go there; otherwise, you can seek inspiration based on the period you want to travel in (for example, during the summer holidays). There is even a “Speciali” section, which gathers together special articles on travel and interesting facts.
Ventusky.com
This website is remarkable for its detail: with customisable settings, it can provide a wide range of information on current and future weather conditions all over the world. The homepage consists of a map which allows you to move around and select from a variety of options, indicated to the left of the screen, to reveal weather conditions in terms of the selected parameter (temperature, pressure, storms, wind, pollution, cloud cover, and much more). Alternatively, you can simply type a specific location into the search bar. At the bottom, it is possible to select the day and time for which you want to view the weather forecast.
Highway Weather
Designed to monitor weather conditions before and during a road trip, this App – available on the App Store and Google Play – indicates the weather forecast for the entirety of a given route, including temperature, wind speed and precipitation.
Moreover, the application recommends the best time to set out based on the weather.
Accuweather
Available in over 100 languages and used by more than one and a half billion people all over the world, this App boasts its hallmark trait in its very name: the accuracy of its weather forecasts.
Changes in the weather can be viewed on an hourly or daily basis, while the “radar” section provides a map of the world on which a variety of data can be seen, including severe weather areas, gales, cloud cover, rainfall and much more.
