As skydivers we have a stronger than average interest in weather. If you're like me, you probably check forecasts pretty regularly before traveling to The Ranch. Of course we have all figured out that we can't jump unless we are at the DZ, so most of us come out no matter what the forecast, but we do like to know what to anticipate, weather-wise.
Fortunately the web has made it super easy to check weather from our homes and offices. We can also use a wireless Internet connection at The Ranch with a laptop computer to get near real-time weather while waiting for a load, or while waiting for a cloud deck to clear.
There are tons of weather sites available, each offering slightly different products, and everybody has their favorites. I've found a few sites that I often use, including a great aviation site that provides a standard winds aloft forecast similar to what we see posted at manifest each day. I'll give you links to those sites in a moment.
If you are looking at weather sites it helps to get detail tailored to the Hudson Valley, and the area around The Ranch. Consumer sites often search by zip code, so if you are using such a site The Ranch zip code is 12525. Some sites also like to present information from airport reporting stations, so let me give you some detail about local airports:
| Airport | Airport Identifier | Direction From The Ranch | Distance |
| Newburgh | SWF | 184 degrees South | 11.9 Miles |
| Montgomery/Orange | MGJ | 223 degrees South-West | 12.9 Miles |
| Poughkeepsie | POU | 117 degrees East | 13.8 Miles |
| Monticello/Sullivan | MSV | 287 degrees West | 33.8 Miles |
| New York/Kennedy | JFK | 179 degrees South | 73.9 Miles |
| Albany | ALB | 027 degrees North-East | 76.2 Miles |
| Hartford/Bradley | BDL | 090 degrees East | 77.6 Miles |
| WilkesBarre/Scranton | AVP | 268 degrees West | 85.2 Miles |
| Binghamton | BGM | 306 degrees North-West | 102 Miles |
Aviation sites that are programmed to international standards require that a "K" be added to the front of a domestic identifier. Under that standard Newburgh would be KSWF.
When reviewing weather from any reporting point take a moment to visualize where the site is in relation to The Ranch (see graphic), and the direction the general weather systems are moving. For example, Newburgh is only 12 miles from The Ranch so it is a pretty good pick for a current wind or visibility check, but since it is to the south, it won't provide great information about approaching weather unless the weather is moving from that direction. Monticello/Sullivan County airport is a bit further away at 34 miles, but it is North-West of The Ranch and offers a great preview of what is coming our way when the winds are from that direction. Keep in mind Sullivan is on the other side of The Gunks and weather often changes as it crosses that ridgeline. When looking at local radar sites, note that Albany is North-East of the Ranch, while Binghamton is North-West, then pick the specific radar picture that will show you what is expected to travel in our direction. Most of the radar sites have a "loop" function so you can watch the precipitation changes over the past few hours and see a movement trend. Satellite images will give a good view of actual cloud cover.
Some radar and satellite images, as well as other aviation sites are presented in Zulu, GMT, or UTC time format. They are all pretty much the same. To convert from any of those formats to local time at The Ranch subtract five hours from Zulu in the winter, and subtract four hours in the summer. So, 2200 Zulu would be 1700 local time at The Ranch in the winter, and 1800 local time in the summer.
One off the easiest ways to get weather for The Ranch is to click on the link on the side of our home page at http://www.ranchskydive.com . This link will take you to a page produced by Weather Underground, available directly at: http://www.wunderground.com/US/NY/Gardiner.html . This site has an easy to use format that allows you to select current weather reports from Newburgh, Orange County, Poughkeepsie and Monticello/Sullivan airports. The really cool detail includes actual ground winds, gusts, visibility, and cloud heights as measured within the last 15 minutes. There is also an outstanding graphic of surface winds in the area, and a direct link to the Albany radar site. Other radar sites are also available.
Another great general interest site is Intellicast, available at: http://intellicast.com . This site has a really solid wind page, and an easy to use package of radar links.
Http://www.weather.com is the official site for The Weather Channel. The daily forecast is extended for 10 days, providing an interesting long range preview of anticipated weather. If you click on the report for either today's date, or the next day you will get an hour-by-hour forecast of anticipated changes. This is a super way to see specifically what time a weather change is expected to happen.
Another popular general weather site is http://www.accuweather.com , the official site for a well known company that provides many television and radio stations with customized weather products. This site offers an hour by hour forecast that includes anticipated winds and gusts for a local area. There is also a 15 day speculative forecast available. In addition to standard consumer products, the site features an aviation area with weather information specifically configured for pilots. One of the unique pilot offerings is a somewhat limited winds aloft report.
A second site for a winds aloft forecast is produced by the Aviation Weather Center (AWS) at: http://aviationweather.gov/products/nws/fdwinds . This page will give you a government forecast for winds at 3,000, 6,000, 9,000, 12,000, and on up to 39,000 feet, all in a raw format close to what most of us are already familiar with. The page can be configured for 6, 12, or 24 hour wind forecasts covering 25 stations all around the Northeast. A quick glance down the columns will give you an idea of wind trends in the region. Reporting points closest to The Ranch are: Bradley Airport in Hartford, Connecticut (BDL), Albany Airport (ALB), John F. Kennedy Airport on Long Island (JFK), and Wilkes Barre/Scranton Airport in Pennsylvania (AVP). There is a quick link at the top of the page to help you read a winds aloft forecast, and a link to a map of reporting points at the bottom of the page. It is worth checking these tutorials. In addition to reviewing a standard winds aloft presentation the tutorial will help you understand how to read the listed effective time period of the forecast, and will provide some cool answers to question you never knew you should ask.
There is a great page of aviation weather links at: http://www.avweb.com/toc/weather.html . This page doesn't actually provide weather, but it offers a ton of great links to aviation weather sites. The main page is at: http://www.avweb.com, and is a useful web based magazine about general aviation.
Another great page of weather links is provided by the University of Florida at: http://www.ifas.ufl.edu/AgriGator/wxr.htm . This collection of links will get you some pretty heavy duty weather features from top private and government sites all around the world. If you are sitting at work trying to look busy, this page of links can keep you going all day.
So, if you are at home trying to decide if you should come to The Ranch, or at The Ranch trying to decide if you should go home, these weather sites will give you a great overview of what's happening in the sky. But hey, remember, you can't skydive unless you are at the dropzone!