reliable weather forecast (Washington: dangerous, office, areas)

[samantha10]

Obviously I am aware that this is sort of a silly question but which station/web site do you all depend on for the most accurate forecast in the White Mountains? We want to hike this week sometime (was hoping for Tues) and I am getting conflicting reports. The only two sources I know of are WMUR and the weather channel. Does anyone know of anywhere else I can check???
Thanks

[square peg]

These are the two I go by and they're pretty accurate. Take your rain gear.

Fairbanks Museum & Planetarium: Detailed Forecast


On this one just click on the map for your location.
National Weather Service Forecast Office - Portland-Gray,Maine

[Valerie C]

AccuWeather.com (http://www.accuweather.com/ - broken link)

Love the option for long-range forecasts!

[samantha10]

Thank you

[GregW]

Expect anything. Be prepared for anything. by the time they get a forcast put together the conditions have changed. Mountain weather can change from beautiful to dangerous in minutes. Be very careful and enjoy.

[dognh]

Traditional mass market weather sources (tv, radio, weather.com) won't give you the detail you'll need for the summits and wilderness areas (they are ok for the populated valleys).

I would use
Mount Washington Observatory (MWOBS) – Higher Summits Forecast

[BF66389]

Originally Posted by samantha10

We want to hike this week sometime (was hoping for Tues) and I am getting conflicting reports.

First off the other folks provided great suggestions (MWOBS predictions in particular). That said I can't echo GregW's messages about preparedness enough. The White Mountains have some of the most rapidly changing and extreme weather on earth, people actually come here to "train" before going to other much higher peaks around the world. Every week once it gets nice you can read about someone needing rescue, getting hurt, or worse. Obviously some of these are true accidents that couldn't be avoided- it happens. Yet way too many (the majority) are folks who went out hiking on a nice day, with a weather report for a nice day, and the day turned very-not-nice half way into their hike.

Anyway, you may know all this; but I just want to echo it...again

Personally I'm most comfortable knowing that in my day pack I have not only my lightweight rain gear and some compact cold weather gear- but also some emergency means of surviving the night in a pinch.