As a photographer, we have many tools we can use on our mobile devices and computers to prepare us for our next photography trip and plan ahead. Diving straight into a photography trip without understanding the weather patterns and landscape beforehand can lead to many dangerous situations. Therefore, let's try our best to utilize the amazing technologies that we have to make sure that we stay safe and our photography comes out nicely! I will try my best to list both services that can be used on computers as well as mobile alternatives so that you can bring it with you on the road.

2 Amazing Real Time Weather Maps:

VentuskyLinks to an external site. (https://www.ventusky.com/Links to an external site.)

Ventusky is a live map that provides detailed information on winds, rains, and temperature, and many more useful weather statistics of any location that you choose. They have animations that help the user to visualize the overall weather patterns. The site also provides weather forecasts and reports that are both live and records and animations of past weather conditions. I find the animations and being able to toggle the time that the website displays to see the overall trends of the weather in the past few days very helpful. You can get a sense of the wind speeds and general temperature ranges of where you want to go for photography. Not only is this site useful for photographers to prepare for high wind speeds, extreme temperatures, and any other relevant conditions to outdoor photography, this site is also useful in general for all purposes!

(My own screenshot of Ventusky, taken Nov. 16)

 

WindyLinks to an external site. (https://www.windy.com/Links to an external site.)

A mobile friendly alternative to Ventusky is Windy. Windy has mobile options on both Google Play and the App Store. It has all the features Ventusky has along with even more information, such as webcams in vicinity. This can be really useful for you to familiarize yourself with the landscape near the area where you want to take pictures. You can toggle between basic, waves, wind, and many other modes to match your purpose. Overall, it is a great website and mobile option for photographers to watch the weather and plan ahead of time for photography trips.

(Embed of Windy, retrieved Oct. 31. Isn't this so cool? It even shows the isobars!)

Windy also has a 3D mode to make visualization even easier. However, it is only available for premium users.

(My own screenshot of Windy, taken Nov. 16)

While limited in collection, Windy's aggregation of live webcams in the vicinity can also help you pick out nice photography spots! Such as this one:

(My own screenshot of Windy, taken Nov. 16)

 

Pre-Trip Route Planning Resources:

DriveBC (https://www.drivebc.ca/Links to an external site.)

DriveBCLinks to an external site. is a helpful tool that combines both traffic conditions and weather conditions - a perfect tool for photographers planning on an outdoor photography trip. They have a dedicated live Conditions and EventsLinks to an external site. page that can help you avoid both natural disasters and planned closing of routes! The site also provides a more links page for additional resourcesLinks to an external site. for drivers. In additional to their site, they also have a TwitterLinks to an external site. page that tweets out live alerts for any users that prefer notifications over monitoring the site! With DriveBC, you'll be ready to plan any photography trip in the beautiful British Columbia!

(A screenshot of DriveBC, Retrieved by me on Nov. 16)

The Weather NetworkLinks to an external site. (https://www.theweathernetwork.com/caLinks to an external site.)

While The Weather Network is a great resource for weather alerts in general for both your computer and your mobile device, they also have a highway conditionsLinks to an external site. map that helps you plan your trip ahead of time so that you do not drive in dangerous conditions if you had to go on the highway to get to one of your photography scenes! There is also a small section on recent weather newsLinks to an external site., so that you can stay up to date on recent weather disaster events. The site also provides information on temperature, UV levels, and so much more, so you can plan ahead of time and prepare sunscreen and appropriate clothing for extreme weather!

(Screenshot of Location Specific Forecast, retrieved Nov. 16)

(Screenshot of the Highway Conditions MapLinks to an external site., retrieved on Nov. 16)

 

For an iOS specific alternative - see "Get traffic and weather info in Maps on iPhoneLinks to an external site.".

 

Other Helpful Links:

Environment CanadaLinks to an external site. (https://weather.gc.ca/canada_e.htmlLinks to an external site.)

Environment Canada is a simple, handy, and accurate website for Canadians with live forecasts. The data is presented in a clean format so that any users are able to understand it. Additionally, they also have wind forecasts under the marine forecasts Links to an external site.page. The site also providesPublic Weather AlertsLinks to an external site.for Canadians countrywide. This can be a useful tool for a variety of activities including photography! Lastly, they also provide many additional helpful environment and natural resourcesLinks to an external site. that can be useful for photography and beyond.

(Screenshot of the Vancouver Forecast, retrieved Nov. 16)

 

Weather Forecast (https://www.weather-forecast.com/maps/CanadaLinks to an external site.)

This site shows large scale animations of sea level pressure, temperature, cloud map, weather map, wind map, and so much more. While it may not look as fancy as Windy or as text-based as Environment Canada, it aggregates a variety of useful information (such as wind direction and strength) in one place so that navigation is very easy. Similar to the other resources, this site also provides city webcams - a useful resource when planning out where to go for photography shots!

(Simple yet useful! A screenshot of the website, retrieved Nov. 16)

Location Specific Resources:

Depending on where you want to go for your next photography trip, you can also check out possible hiking trails and site specifics in tandem to weather forecasts to best prepare yourself. A simple Google search can yield surprisingly helpful results. Some possible site conditions/live camera feed as well as trail maps include the following:

Cypress MountainLinks to an external site.

Whistler BlackcombLinks to an external site. (this one even shows a snow stake to help you get a good sense of the snowfall!)

Stanley ParkLinks to an external site.

 

Miscellaneous App Recommendation:

Sun SurveyorLinks to an external site. (https://www.sunsurveyor.com/Links to an external site.)

Sun Surveyor is a helpful app in photography planning when it comes to sunlight. It has real time sunlight statistics that allow you to plan your photography trips accordingly while also being able to collaborate with other users by sharing data and locations. What's really cool about this app is that you can visualize how the sunlight is perceived on a 3D map, allowing you to preview how buildings and other objects may obstruct your photos. The app also comes with links to video tutorials, allowing any beginners to easily learn how to master the app!

(Screenshot from the Sun Surveyor website, retrieved Nov. 16)