The peak of the Perseids meteor shower was on August 11-12 this year. Of course, there were clouds and thunderstorms threatening to take the night away. Fortunately, there are some incredible APPs to help predict the weather. Here’s my story.
Weather apps
Reading weather apps has become a skill I’ve found necessary for my Milky Way Night Sky Sedona Workshops. There are many a night that, without the forecast capabilities, I would have called off the night shoot due to cloudy conditions. With the help of various apps, I was able to accurately predict that a window would open at the time needed to capture the Galactic Center and red rock formations. Any one of the apps alone would have suggested to call it an early night.
Weather.com
Your standard 10-day weather apps give you a beginning look at possibilities. If the indication is socked in and rain all the time you can pretty much call it a day. However, should you see partly cloudy in and out it’s time to start breaking out the additional apps.
Clear Outside
Clear Outside is a free app from Flo, a telescope company in the United Kingdom. Clear Outside gives you estimated magnitude of sky quality and the Bortle number for your forecast area. In addition, low, medium, high and total cloud and a color coded suggestion for whether it’s a good time for photographing stars. Note that Clear Outside gives you information for the area above your head. Your field of view could be obscured in the direction you wish to gather images. It also includes other information such as temperature, rain and fog, That makes this another piece of the puzzle.
Ventusky
This app is powerful for your phone and/or computer. Satellite, radar, wind direction and gusts, air quality and more. I use the satellite image for current cloud cover. I’ll also go back in time to see previous satellite captures and play a movie of them. It can give you an idea of how the clouds have moved up until this point. Seeing a big old cloud moving in your direction is useful information. Radar is extremely valuable. It can play predictive movies if there is rain in the area giving you an idea for the future.
Astrospheric
Astropheric is available for your phone and your computer as well. This Canadian company uses many different sources to create its sky conditions forecast. It has the ability to create satellite forecast imagery along with cloud, smoke, transparency, seeing, jet stream, light pollution and more. Probably one of my new favorite apps added to this process.
Closing thoughts
There are a pile of weather and night sky apps out there. The ones I’ve shared above have saved me a lot of time and energy and got me out into the night when otherwise I’d have packed it in early or not ventured forth at all. Weather and clouds are just one piece of getting out under the night sky. If you don’t get the same results which I do practice and play. Using the app and seeing what the actual conditions are makes it easier for you to read and predict based on their information. Enjoy the night skies, and if you know or find other good apps for weather and night sky, drop them in the comments below.
Yours in Creative Photography,
Bob
