50% scattered forecast...

dburne

dburne

New Member
Jun 8, 2012
590
Nashville TN
Boat Info
2013 Sea Ray 190 Sport
Engines
4.3 MPI Mercruiser Alpha One
Hey gang,

So we are having the two oldest grandkids over this weekend, ( 10 and 8), and they were so looking forward to hopefully going boating with us tomorrow.

We have been having some rain here this week, and currently the forecast for tomorrow calls for 50% scattered showers and thundershowers. Earlier in the week that percentage was higher. Now saying this, today called for 90%, and I have not see the first shower or thundershower today - has been mostly cloudy but not much rain...

Anyway I was just kind of curious what you guys do in these situations, is there a forecast percentage where you go/no go?
My thoughts are to plan on going, see what the morning looks like when I get up, and then make the final decision. Winds are only forecast 5-10, so that is not a big issue. Tomorrow night it drops down to like 40%, so sounds like if there is any it would be mostly earlier in the day.

Just curious how others plan around the weather, thanks for any feedback.
 
Before I leave the dock, I check the radar on my phone to decide whether to go upstream or down.
Been caught in storms a few times, it is just another adventure.
 
The weather terrorists Love to keep the fear in everybody. They had 60% chance of rain last weekend, we were on the boat three days with no rain.
 
Yep, just keep checking the Doppler radar every 1/2 hour so you can see storms coming. Sometimes they form out of thin air, when that's the case you may get caught.

I take their storm forecast with a grain of salt.
 
A great radar app for iphone is radarus+. Put it on super resolution and it is really easy to track the weather. Search for radarus+ in App Store, it comes up second in my search. app is called NOAA superres radar.
 
Many thanks guys, sounds like a plan!
I will check the weather when get up in the morning, have a good look at the radar, and make the decision then. This evening, we are going to get our food and stuff and plan on going, so we will be ready in the morning if we do.
 
Jeremygavin said:
A great radar app for iphone is radarus+. Put it on super resolution and it is really easy to track the weather. Search for radarus+ in App Store, it comes up second in my search. app is called NOAA superres radar.
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Thanks for the heads up on the app, I have an iPhone and will check that out.
I normally just check weather.com's local radar when I am on the lake.
 
Quint4 said:
The weather terrorists Love to keep the fear in everybody. They had 60% chance of rain last weekend, we were on the boat three days with no rain.
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Quint...I could not have thought of a better description for the so called weather prediction folks. I think the "science" of predicting weather days in advance is all a load of crap personally. :smt021

To the OP...our family used to be afraid of going out on the boat anytime there was a 40-50% chance or better of thunderstorm. Those were the days of using bowriders. We got cruisers so we could hide from the rain if necessary and still enjoy being on the water.

As Quint said, we had all kinds of doom and gloom forecasts last weekend, and guess what...not a drop of water fell on us, and we were supposed to be right in the path of the storm. The wife and I deliberated Friday afternoon about staying overnight on the boat and suffering thru the "storms". Well, we were in a cabin boat after all, so we decided to stay. The only water I got on me that weekend was when I jumped in it to go swimming. It never did rain. Ridiculous forecasting and fear mongering might have made us stay home, but we didn't, and were really glad.

Don't let the negative nannies keep you from enjoying the limited boating season you have.
We don't avoid going out unless the forecast is 70% or more, AND I can personally read the weather with my own eyes and see that it is developing into something ominous.

Have fun this weekend! :smt038
 
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Ten Years Gone said:
Don't let the negative nannies keep you from enjoying the limited boating season you have.
We don't avoid going out unless the forecast is 70% or more, AND I can personally read the weather with my own eyes and see that it is developing into something ominous.

Have fun this weekend!
Click to expand...

Thanks for the encouragement!
I am envious, man my wife would so love an overnighter of some sort - her dream is to be able to go out in a boat and spend the entire weekend.
Maybe someday...
 
In Nashville, if you can get a marine forecast, then trust it or the NWS forecast before believing anything you see on local TV. Channel 4's weekend weather person is Nancy "doesn't know beans" Van Camp. She and the other broadcast weather people tend to sensationalize things like snow, ice, storms, hail, and anything bad that will make viewer check the weather more often...because they sell advertising. The storms we are having today seem to be localized and without much energy, so I'd bet on going tomorrow.


I don't boat on the lakes in Tennessee any more, but in Florida, I make my go or no-go call based on the marine weather forcast, primarily winds, and frontal movement and confirm what I learn by firing up my radar as soon as I get to the boat.
 
My favorite weather app is called Dark Sky (http://darkskyapp.com). It's simple and on the main page it tells you how far away the nearest precipitation is and what direction it is from you. For example, it will say "No rain in the next hour. Nearest precipitation is 30 miles to the NE." You can use this info, plus the radar, plus your eyeballs to determine your risk of rain.

And the best part... it bases the forecast on your exact location. I mean, right where you are standing and it is very accurate.
 
dburne said:
Thanks for the encouragement!
I am envious, man my wife would so love an overnighter of some sort - her dream is to be able to go out in a boat and spend the entire weekend.
Maybe someday...
Click to expand...

Ever thought of chartering? We take a few days to a week in the off season each year to charter a 32 footer for some overnighters in areas other than our own lake. Ya rent the boat and bring yer own food and bedding. They even come with dinghies so you can do some exploring. AND, most of the charter boats are equipped with more gadgets than our own boat, eg; windlass, davits etc. If ya get a trawler like a GB or something your fuel bill won't be astronomical and you'll still have a nice little getaway. It's a blast using someone else's boat. Ya still gotta keep it clean and treat it good but there's somthin' about using someone else's head, engine, cookers, instruments, and dinghy when ya don't have to worry about them wearing out or breaking down.
 
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Thanks so much guys, really appreciate the info! Grandkids are here, we have been to the store and got all the supplies, and planning on leaving out early in the morning. I will check that Dark Sky app out as well, thanks for the link!

Chris, never thought about doing something like that, we will have to check that out and treat ourselves one weekend! Thanks for the suggestion!

Edit: Oh and of course, the wife wanted to go by Dicks Sporting to check out a different kind of tube for the grandkids, and they decided they wanted a Hot Dog tube. Luckily they had a 50% off clearance sale on those things... dang grandkids! :)
 
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Look the app for "weatherbug". I have found very useful and accurate. It also has lightning detection. Tells you how far away the latest strike was.
 
weather.com still saying 50% chance showers and thundershowers. Radar looks pretty good for this morning though.
I got the Dark Sky app for my iPhone, looks pretty neat - it is saying just light rain next 24 hours, nothing right now.

We will be heading out shortly! Thanks again gang!
 
Well we just got in from a long full day on the water, the grandkids had a blast , especially on the Hot Dog! Love making those memories for them.

Not a drop of rain out there all day, in fact there was more sun than clouds. The Dark Sky App was really neat, I kept a check on it and finally toward the end saw precip was heading our way, so we called it a day and headed back. Just got home and got the boat emptied and covered, looks like a storm is now approaching.

So glad we went today.
 
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