How can knowing your weather better make the most of your time outdoors?

Our Australian landscape provides a beautiful backdrop for bushwalking, camping, and other outdoor adventures. But when you’re close to nature, you’re exposed to the elements—and the weather in Australia can be extreme. So how can you know your weather better and make the most of your bushwalking or camping trip?

Planning for your trip

You can use weather and climate information to plan, postpone, or change your plans for the safest and most enjoyable conditions, and ensure you have the right equipment and protective clothing.

Select the right time of year

If you’re planning a bushwalking or camping trip well in advance, find out about the climate of the location when selecting your date. While weather can vary significantly from one year to the next, consider which months are typically hot, cold, wet, or dry for your location. Australia spans a large range of climate zones with different weather at different times of year.

You may also need to consider bushfire seasons, which vary around Australia.

Select the right time of day

Detailed (three-hourly) forecasts can help you pick the right time of day to go bushwalking. In warmer locations and during summer, this will often be earlier in the day to avoid peaks in temperature and UV. Consider that temperatures may also drop quickly in the evening and take precautions (such as extra clothing) if it’s possible you will return later than expected. To help with planning, sunrise and sunset times are available in the BOM Weather app.

A three-hourly forecast can also tell you when conditions are likely to deteriorate or improve, helping you make informed decisions about when or how long to walk for, or if you should take a less exposed route.

Improve your weather knowledge

Our top tips for getting weather-ready, well before your trip:

  • Familiarise yourself with bom.gov.au. You can also download the BOM Weather app.
  • Know where to find weather warnings and understand the type of weather
  • Learn how to use MetEye for detailed (three-hourly) weather forecasts, seven days ahead. MetEye forecasts are available in 6 km grid cells for all of Australia, meaning you can search for postcodes or towns, or use latitude and longitude for remote locations. You can show rivers and lakes, catchments, and roads and railways on the forecast map to help orientate you.
  • Identify your closest weather station and/or rain radar if you’ll need the latest weather during your walk. But also consider whether internet coverage will be available to access this.

 

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Check the forecast before you go
Check the weather forecast and review it regularly …

Watch the weather while you’re out …
If you have access, keep checking our website or BOM Weather app …

More information … links

Source
Bureau of Meteorology

See also: Weather, Wind and Tides

and remember:

Climate is what we expect, weather is what we get.
Mark Twain

 

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