Weather Basics
Here's one weather prediction you can count on: Some day when
you're deep in the backcountry, the weather will change unexpectedly.
Snow can fall at moderate heights in August. A sudden downpour
may hit your ridgeline while you can still see sunlight beaming
on a distant peak. Fog and clouds can cling to a coastline even
though the sun is shining full force just a half-mile inland.
Unpredictable weather is an inherent risk in wilderness travel.
Always come prepared.
1. With weather, hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
2. Take cues from the clouds.
3. Respond swiftly when lightning threatens.
Think Ahead
It's impossible to know for certain what the weather will do,
even on day hikes. Accordingly, a little common sense and a cautious
attitude are two of the most important items you can bring with
you into the backcountry.
* Hope for the best, prepare for the worst. Carry reliable rain
gear and assorted layers of clothing you can wear according to
the needs of the moment.
* Investigate a region's historical weather patterns before you
travel. If you plan to hike in Colorado's Never Summer Wilderness,
for example, it's a good bet you'll need more than a tank top
for the trip. Talk to rangers; call ranger stations in advance;
ask locals once you're in the area; post a note in Favorite Trips
in REI's Community section asking for input from other hikers;
consult guide books.
* Stay informed during your trip. A tiny AM radio can pick up
many stations after dark, even deep in the backcountry. You might
be able to tune in a station that lies within the region you are
exploring. Local forecasts are typically announced near the top
of each hour.
Keep an Eye on the Sky
Pay attention to developments in the sky. The shapes and movements
of clouds typically foreshadow changes in the weather such as
the arrival of warm fronts and cold fronts.
Warm fronts are defined as warm air masses that gradually push
out and replace cooler bodies of air. Warm fronts, which move
at roughly half the speed of cold fronts, rarely produce violent
weather, but the precipitation they generate may linger for long
periods. Warm fronts progress from thin, high-level cirrus clouds
to low, dense stratus clouds:
* Cirrus clouds: These thin, streaky or wispy clouds sometimes resemble white brush strokes on a blue canvas high in the sky. They may precede the front by as many as 48 hours.
* Cirrocumulus clouds arrive next, often appearing as small puffs or rippled rows, followed by cirrostratus clouds, which tend to wallpaper large areas of blue sky with thin, bright sheets of clouds. Filled with ice crystals, cirrostratus clouds frequently cause a halo to form around the sun. Both cloud types float high in the sky.
* Altostratus (dense, smoky looking, mid-level) and nimbostratus (gray, thick, low-level) clouds come next and usually carry the precipitation, anything from a drizzle to a steady rain or snow. Low-hanging, monochromatic stratus clouds carry moisture and often resemble ocean fog.
Cold fronts involve cold air masses that wedge under warmer air
pockets. Cold fronts can develop rapidly and move swiftly, causing
temperatures to drop, wind directions to shift and barometric
pressure to fall.
* Cumulus clouds are white, puffy, fair-weather clouds. Should these puffs continue to build upward, though, rain may come late in the day.
* Cumulonimbus clouds rise vertically and expand dramatically from their original white, puffy bases to soar high into the upper atmosphere. On other occasions their tops will flatten out into a menacing, anvil-like shape. These classic "thunderhead" clouds foretell potentially severe weather. Cumulonimbus clouds also form independent of cold fronts, blossoming in the afternoon hours of very warm days and producing late-afternoon thunderstorms.
Tip: If late-day storms become a pattern during your trip, rise
early each day and cover as much ground as you can during the
day's more stable hours.
Altimeters: If you carry one, or wear an altimeter watch, an approaching
cold front can cause your elevation reading to rise even if you're
not moving. If you notice such a rise, this means air pressure
has dropped (suggesting thinner air at a higher elevation). This
is a hint that bad weather could be on its way.
Lightning
The National Weather Service estimates that 100,000 thunderstorms
take place in the United States each year. Lightning is present
in all thunderstorms, since lightning causes thunder. How? A bolt
of lightning causes the air around it to expand and contract with
immense force, producing a shattering sound.
Between 1980 and 1995, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
calculated that in the United States an average of 82 deaths per
year were attributable to lightning. A lightning strike sends
an electrical current radiating through the ground over a large
area. This "ground current" is usually the lethal force in storm-related
fatalities.
Never take an electrical storm casually. If lightning threatens
while you are in the backcountry, take immediate action:
* Move away from a tall, solitary treeor any lone, tall object.
Isolated high-rise objects are likely strike points for lightning.
* Descend from ridgelines or peaks. Lightning tends to strike
prominent topographic features. In threatening weather, move away
from high points and exposed areas. Head for lower ground.
* Stay away from water.
* Separate yourself from metal or graphite objects, including
external-frame packs, ice axes, trekking poles and crampons.
* Keep out of shallow caves or overhangs. Lightning's current
easily jumps across gaps and could jolt a person standing in the
mouth of a cave.
* Insulate yourself from the ground; sit on an internal-frame
pack or sleeping pad. Or crouch on the ground with your feet close
together. If a ground current reaches you, it most likely will
travel only through your feet. Do not lie down (since it expands
your contact with the ground).
* Have members in your party spread out by at least 25 feetfarther
if possible.
* A strike victim can be revived by CPR.
* Where is the best place to be? Within a group of trees of roughly
uniform height in a low-lying area or, as a second option, in
a low spot of an open meadow.
How close is that lightning? Use your watch and time the interval
between the flash of lightning and the sound of thunder. Thunder
travels approximately a mile every five seconds (or roughly 1,000
feet per second). If it takes 10 seconds for the sound to reach
you after a flash, the storm is two miles away. If that interval
is shorter the next time, the storm is drawing closer.