Anybody know a good source of weather forecasts for LFT?

I ride everyday from Wilson to Grand on the LFT.  I'll stay off the path if it's really windy, particularly coming home at night.  Not thrilled about riding into the wind.  And over or under dressing is never fun.

Does anybody know of a good source of forecasts for the LFT?  I've learned that the "Chicago" forecasts can be up to 10 degrees off of the actual LFT temperature. I believe this is because many of the forecasts are based on O'hare (I understand that's specifically the case with WBEZ forecasts).  This has been true for all seasons.

No interest in reading weather maps, just temp and wind would be great. An email or text service would be ideal.

Thx!

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Permalink Reply by Jared on December 1, 2016 at 3:27am

On weather.com I get different temps for my ZIP Code (60625, Albany Park/Lincoln Square) than I do if I put in O'Hare.  I'd be curious where exactly those readings for both locations are being taken.

Permalink Reply by Tiberculosis on December 1, 2016 at 4:18am

@activetransLFT, activetrans' reporting. Check #chiLFT on twitter too, most used hashtag. There are quite a few active users of this tag as well.

There is also @CHI_LFT_MC a missed connections twitter

 

Permalink Reply by Tiberculosis on December 1, 2016 at 4:24am

You can also subscribe to twitter accounts too and set up so you are alerted via text when a new tweet is posted. 

Permalink Reply by Matt on December 1, 2016 at 4:40am

I use Weather Underground and, at least on my phone, it allows you to select individual weather stations (and even shows where they are physically located).  My biggest annoyance is that not all of them seem to report the wind correctly, if at all.  I would check a few stations along the lakefront on a windier day and see which ones seem accurate.

It is funny how the default for Chicago is O'Hare which can be way, way different than various parts of the city at any given time.  I work near O'Hare and live in Logan Square, and I have a widget to show each one on phone.  It's not uncommon to see +/- 10 degree differences.

Montrose Harbor

New East Side (the ones right around Grand and Navy Pier don't appear to report the wind).

Permalink Reply by Tiberculosis on December 1, 2016 at 4:51am

https://darksky.net is also a favorite. 

Also in regards to over/under dressing...this is that time of year that kills me. Can be freezing in the am but nice later. Vise versa. That said, good to have some light layers packed you can pile on if need be, same goes for socks/gloves. A snood/buff will help you out in varied temps. I seemingly can never avoid a headwind in the fall/winter, best to just batten down the hatches and be prepared. 

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on December 1, 2016 at 7:52am

Thanks. I had no idea there were weather stations on/near the path!

Permalink Reply by JC (8.5) on December 1, 2016 at 5:56am

I swear by the hourly graphical forecast, you can designate by zip code or lat/long and it gives you a good idea of what the wind is doing. Not sure how close this will be for the LFT but it's worth a shot.

http://www.nws.noaa.gov/com/weatherreadynation/hourly_weather_graph...l

the one I use, based off somewhere between downtown and Albany Park I think;

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=41.85007&lon=-87.6...

Permalink Reply by Karel Vollrath on December 1, 2016 at 6:08am

I use a few different apps for this. Windfinder: which I have set to give wind speed and direction from Montrose beach, Chicago Buoy, 63rd st beach and a few others to get an idea of the lake-front wind. I also use Epic Ride Weather App (powered by Dark Sky mentioned above): which links with Strava and can show you historical and current ride conditions based on your previous trips.  

Permalink Reply by Josh L. on December 1, 2016 at 8:04am

Thanks for the advice everybody. Love the wind graphs..will create some of those.

Permalink Reply by Wuffie on December 1, 2016 at 10:38am

If you are on a iPhone, get the app WindAlert.  I started with it for sailing but it is great for cycling on the lakefront.  When it is really howling, though, I don't bother looking.  I know it's going to hurt headed into it...I don't need to know how badly beforehand.

Permalink Reply by David Heiberger on December 3, 2016 at 4:10am
I like wunderground.com. You can view conditions at a good number of weather stations around town.
Permalink Reply by Tom A.K. on December 3, 2016 at 6:40am

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