Meteorologist Eric Sorensen here. We get a lot of phone calls and emails this time of year from travelers who are heading far and wide for the holidays. Usually, we just look the forecast up on weather.gov, but for those who are traveling long distances, it’s not completely accurate.
Thanks to my friend Mark Schnackenberg, of KWWL-TV for sharing the new experimental travelers forecast tool from the National Weather Service.
When the map appears, simply zoom into your starting point. Right-click and set that as your starting location. Now zoom out so you can navigate the map to your ending point. Right-click again and place that as your ending point.
A box will pop up in the upper-right hand side of the screen. Now change the time you’ll be leaving the starting location. The route will be calculated, based on the type of weather you’ll see. If you hover over the little icons, you can see different forecast parameters for that part of your trip! In this morning’s video, I shared a route from Duluth, Minnesota to Davenport, Iowa. It’s going to be quite snowy for travelers in Northwestern Wisconsin.
Mobile Users: Hold down on the map for your start point. “Set Travel Origin” will set your start point. Then move the map to the place where you’ll be going. Hold down on the map and you can select where you’ll be going. Be sure to change the calendar so you’re getting a forecast and not current conditions!
Cool stuff that will help you navigate the roads this holiday season. It’s also a great thing for anyone who drives for a living! Be sure to share with your friends and family.
-Meteorologist Eric Sorensen
