Read the sky, plan around storms, and stay ahead of changing conditions.
Weather decides more backcountry trips than anything else, and in the mountains it can turn within an hour. These guides help you see what’s coming before it arrives, by reading forecasts, mountain patterns and the clouds themselves. They also cover when lightning is a real danger and what to do when a storm catches you exposed.
Hurricanes give days of warning, and most of the people they kill are caught by water far from where the storm comes ashore. When the season peaks, how to read the forecast, and what to do on the coast, inland and after the storm.
Where and when tornadoes happen in the US and Canada, how to get a warning when you are out of phone range, and what to do in a tent, a trailer, a car, on the trail or on the water.
Ten regional weather hazards and what each does to a trip: haboobs, chinooks, Santa Ana and Diablo winds, derechos, dry thunderstorms, katabatic and gap winds, lake-effect snow, inversions, nor’easters and atmospheric rivers. Where and when each happens, what warning you get, and what to do.
How flash floods form from rain you never see, where and when they strike, how to read NWS watches and warnings and the canyon itself, where to walk and camp, what to do when the water rises, and why the drive to the trailhead is the deadliest part.
Lightning is one of the most avoidable backcountry killers. How to plan storms out of your day, use the 30/30 rule, choose terrain when you are caught out, and why the crouch you were taught is no longer recommended.
The sky is the most current forecast you have. Read cloud types and sky signs to see rain, storms, and lightning coming hours ahead — and act before the weather lands on you.
How mountains make their own weather, how to read a forecast that actually applies to your route, and how to turn it into decisions while you still have options.
