Check a Driving Route for Weather

Any driver should react appropriately to driving conditions. But to be a better driver, you need to be prepared. It's important to check a driving route for weather before you depart, so you can be prepared for heat, rain, hail, strong winds, blizzards or ice and minimize your risk of being involved in an accident or running into trouble with your vehicle along the way. Checking a driving route for weather involves planning your route and finding out what the weather is like at different stops along the way. Read the following steps to find out how to check a driving route for weather.

Steps

  1. Plan when you will be traveling. Decide which day or days you will be traveling. If you're going on a long road trip, you should break up your route into realistically drivable sections for each day.
  2. Check the weather forecasts for your route on the day of your trip.
    • If you'll be traveling for more than one day, you'll have to look up the weather forecast for each day of travel.
  3. Check the weather forecast for your driving route. There are a number of websites that you can use to do this, including Trippish, AccuWeather and the Weather Channel.
    • Trippish allows you to enter your departure location and destination, and maps out your route along with the current weather conditions for you. However, it doesn't allow you to enter a date other than the current one, and the website doesn't always load.
    • Go to the AccuWeather website and click on the "travel" tab on the right hand of your screen. This will take you to an interactive map that allows you to enter 1 departure point and 1 destination. When you click "go," it will generate a route, as well as the weather forecasts for both locations. If you're making a number of stops along the way, enter each leg of the route separately to get check the weather.
    • You can also go to the website of the Weather Channel to check a driving route for weather. It allows you to enter the zip code, city, or place that you're visiting to find the weather forecast. In addition, you can click on the links to the different Department of Transportation websites for each state to get up to date information about weather and driving conditions. You can also use their Interstate Forecast tool to get accurate weather forecasts for your route if you're traveling on an interstate.
  4. Check weather updates when you're on the road. DON'T EVER check that WHILE DRIVING! Stop the car, take a break and check whatever you want to check. Don't do that while driving. It will distract you and there is a high risk to lead to accidents.
    • The Weather Channel allows you to sign up for free email or mobile weather alerts. It also offers an app for your smart phone that helps you keep track of the weather wherever you are.
    • Listen to the local radio channels as you drive to hear the latest weather alerts.
    • You can check the weather on televisions at rest stops or in your mobile browser on your smart phone, handheld or laptop.
  5. Finished.

Tips

  • Take appropriate precautions for the weather conditions. For example, if snow is forecast, make sure to bring snow chains, or if the weather will be very hot, bring plenty of bottled water.
  • If very bad weather such as a hurricane, blizzard or tornado is forecast, take shelter or reschedule your route.

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References

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