Weather forecast and other logistics

[Steven Smith]

Hi all,

This forum has been very useful for a paddler from the UK planning a solo trip through the Everglades this March.  Thanks to all for sharing your knowledge and experiences.

Couple of things that would be good to views on, please:

1. Is there a  radio station for weather forecasts?

2. If the prevailing winds are light S or E, but with occasional cold fronts blowing 20mph from the north, do people recommend to go North-South or South-North on a thru trip?

Thanks in advance

Steve 

[0ghzx4ar16eim]

Doesn't really matter which way you go. Some days the weather is going to be with you, somedays it will not. 

You can get a uhf radio that will broadcast weather. They make waterproof ones. Also, I think you can probably just get a weather radio that will work too and it is probably cheaper. 

[vivian]

Prevailing winds from SE but might not be the case when you come through. I like south to north as morning sun will blind you heading south early mornings. A VHF is nice to have but a weather radio works too.

[Amazon Bill]

This NOAA graphical weather site is my choice for looking at detailed weather forecasts out 7 days.  Four time periods per day show up graphically as you scroll down the list. Wind speed, direction, tempatures, cloud cover... Last week the day winds were 10-18 mph and late night wind was calm. The wind dropped to <5 mph right at sundown each day.

NOAA National Weather Service Graphic Forecast  http://graphical.weather.gov/sectors/mflWeek.php?page=3&element...

NOAA NWS graphic home page - http://graphical.weather.gov/ 

I used a VHF radio with NOAA weather Channel 2 gave more west coast weather. Channels 5 and 7 give out the East coast and Florida Keys , so you need to interpolate a bit. 

 

[Steven Smith]

Thanks for your replies.

"Weather radio" is a new one on me - no such thing exists in UK,  One more item for the kit list!

[Kim Gass]

NOAA Weather gripe. Channel 7 covers the west coast  from a tower in Naples.  But get down by Graveyard and you cant get reception. Only the stations out of the Keys or Miami.

There are several weather stations. I use a marine handheld radio that has ten weather channels also (of course they are not all receiving at the same time as some are not operational in the Everglades).  The sun is an annoyance going south but that is life. 

We just did a loop trip out of Flamingo and started north on Whitewater Bay. We wanted to get the chickees all done with the added stability of full water bottles. However Vivians  "chickee entry device" worked just fine.  

We also did inland first as a big blow was supposed to come on Day 3 and by then we were scheduled to be in the Labyrinth (that is a ball! Neat and beautiful) and in the shelter of rivers too.

I would stay flexible with a selection of routes.  You cant be sure what campsites you will get until you check in up to the day before departure. And then you will also have a better handle on at least the first 72 hours of weather on your trip.

[Steven Smith]

Thanks for the tips re Weather channel reception.  I gues there's a choice to be made between a weather radio and marine handheld.  I reckon a wind-up / solar  weather radio solves the battery-life problem on a 10 day trip.

I take your point on the need to be flexible on route planning.

Steve