How to get a reliable weather forecast?
Getting a reliable weather forecast is essential during a hut hike. You’ll really want to know what the weather will look like before you start hiking, especially when you are hiking with children. We all know however that getting reliable weather information can be difficult. The weather sites like weatheronline and accuweather are generally not detailed or accurate enough for mountain conditions. So where will you get good information?
Weather sites
We find the following weather sites are detailed and reliable enough to guide you on your hikes:
Bergfex: This site will give you detailed hourly weather forecasts for the mountains in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria and Slovenia. Just type in google the words: bergfex, bergwetter + specific mountain location.
MeteoSwiss – this site provides detailed forecasts for the whole of Switzerland. The precipitation radar provides minute-by-minute information about rainfall – a very useful tool.
Yr.no – this Norwegian weather site will work well for locations all over the world. It has hourly information. This site works well if you want a quick general overview of the weather for the next day for a specific location.
Mountain-forecast.com – useful site with very detailed information.
Windy.com – a very detailed website by a Czech company. It also has an app you can install on your phone.
Ask the hut keeper
The hut keeper is a valuable source of information. He or she will have detailed info about the routes you are planning to hike and will generally have a very good understanding of the weather. In some huts the hut keeper will give a speech about the weather forecast for the next day at the end of diner. The daily weather forecast will also be written down on a board somewhere in the bar area. If the hut keeper says it’s to dangerous to go up the mountain the next day, you’ll really want to listen. They’re probably right, even if the online weather forecast says otherwise.
When in doubt, don’t hike
Keeping yourself and your children safe is essential. Our advice is: when you are in doubt about the weather forecast, don’t hike. Especially when a thunderstorm is on the way. Just wait it out and stay another night in the hut. Play a game cards, eat some rösti and take an extra nap. Or hike down and cut your trip short. Better be safe than sorry.
