most accurate forecast?

[ShaunaM]

Who do you find historically has the most accurate forecasts for the area...I have been watching and am seeing big discrepancies . Not sure how far out it is even accurate. ..we are in the park beginning next Friday. But the forecast is frustrating my capacity to pack...shorts..vs. capris. ..umbrella seems to be closer to being ditched . The hotter the better for me.. I am always cold so I crave the heat ...

 

[figment_jii]

I don't know that any weather forecast is particularly better than others. I look at a range of sites and try to get a sense of the range of predictions and to see if there are any forecasts taht are fairly consistent (e.g., if four out of five sites say rain, I'm inclined to say there will be some rain). I look at AccuWeather, Weather.com, Weather Underground, NBC Los Angeles, the National Weather Service, KTLA, and WeatherBug.

 

[ShaunaM]

I don't know that any weather forecast is particularly better than others. I look at a range of sites and try to get a sense of the range of predictions and to see if there are any forecasts taht are fairly consistent (e.g., if four out of five sites say rain, I'm inclined to say there will be some rain). I look at AccuWeather, Weather.com, Weather Underground, NBC Los Angeles, the National Weather Service, KTLA, and WeatherBug.

Great thanks will check them all out...how far out do you usually find it accurate?

 

[figment_jii]

Um...truthfully...the weather seems to change a lot in Southern California, so I often won't really make a choice until about whether to take a poncho/umbrella, my jacket or just a light sweatshirt, etc. until that morning (I know, not really helpful, sorry). I would say you can often a better sense around the 5-day mark, but anything beyond that seems like an educated guess at best.

 

[sherilaine]

You cannot know if it is going to rain before you pack, I don't think. We will bring rain gear and umbrellas with us even if the forecast for our entire trip says sunny because it can change the day we arrive. We will also bring some shorts if the forecast looks miserable. We live near the mountains where weather can change like snap! So I never rely on anything outside of 36 hours.

 

[WebmasterMaryJo]

I usually just look on Google, but to me, the most accurate is KABC Channel 7 news. They will talk about rain when the weather.com channel isn't showing it, or vice versa.

 

[ShaunaM]

I usually just look on Google, but to me, the most accurate is KABC Channel 7 news. They will talk about rain when the weather.com channel isn't showing it, or vice versa.

thanks everyone just wish I had a crystal ball!

 

[Gisele]

Just do what I do. On the morning of your visit to DL, open your window or door at your hotel, then stick your head out, look around, look to the sky, sniff the air, feel for a breeze, if no rain clouds then good to go with no umbrella. Or if there is drizzle and dark clouds, don't do what I did which was leave your room with your fav silver metallic mini umbrella tied to your bag, so it ends up left behind on South Harbor Blvd. Lol. Ahh...I still miss my MIA mini.

 

[Epek]

Regardless, if you're always cold, I don't think I'd bother with shorts. I know the forecast is saying 80's for next week, but at this time of the year, with the weather we've been having, the 80's will only be for a very short window. Only a few hours. It'll start off park opening more like in the 60's and drop dramatically when the sun starts to set.

 

[ShaunaM]

Regardless, if you're always cold, I don't think I'd bother with shorts. I know the forecast is saying 80's for next week, but at this time of the year, with the weather we've been having, the 80's will only be for a very short window. Only a few hours. It'll start off park opening more like in the 60's and drop dramatically when the sun starts to set.

LOL... You read me like a book...the shorts were for the less temperature sensitive in my group , I would FREEZE outside of a few afternoon hours,

 

[firefly87]

I had a heck of a time too trying to pack for my trip a couple weeks ago. There was one day that rain was forecasted during my trip and every day the percentage of rain would change...sometimes it went up and sometimes it went down. The day that the rain was forecasted, that morning it said 60% chance. It did end up raining, but very little. It stopped right about the time I was thinking I should put on my poncho.

I ended up packing for warm, cold & rain and obviously brought way too much stuff. But, had I needed it, I would have been bummed not to have it. I ended up wearing jeans every day. One day I wore a short sleeve t-shirt and wore a sweatshirt during the morning & evening. All the other days there, I wore a long sleeve t-shirt and sweatshirts in the morning & evening.

 

[GooniesAndy]

I would expect to wear jeans and then have a short-sleeved and long-sleeved shirt option for each day, plus a hoodie. And then a rain coat or poncho, just in case. The weather forecasts here are not that great! I look at them starting 10 days out and watch as every day they change, sometimes dramatically. Once you are 1-2 days out you have a decent idea of what it will be like. If they say it is going to rain there is a better chance of it not raining than the chance of it raining when they haven't predicted it.

 

[ShaunaM]

I would expect to wear jeans and then have a short-sleeved and long-sleeved shirt option for each day, plus a hoodie. And then a rain coat or poncho, just in case. The weather forecasts here are not that great! I look at them starting 10 days out and watch as every day they change, sometimes dramatically. Once you are 1-2 days out you have a decent idea of what it will be like. If they say it is going to rain there is a better chance of it not raining than the chance of it raining when they haven't predicted it.

Huh...good info on rain predictions . Thanks

 

[Gisele]

This is one of several good resources for weather info:

http://thehomeschoolscientist.com/using-clouds-to-predict-the-weather/

 

[ShaunaM]

This is one of several good resources for weather info:

http://thehomeschoolscientist.com/using-clouds-to-predict-the-weather/

Very cool....my kids did that not so long ago at school....

 

[SMD]

Try looking for a site that does forecasts by zip code instead of just "Anaheim." That may be slightly more reliable.

 

[ShaunaM]

Try looking for a site that does forecasts by zip code instead of just "Anaheim." That may be slightly more reliable.

Oh cool did not know that was an option