I have written very similar articles on this topic before but what I have discovered (before and just recently) is a simple and very handy Bike Riding Weather Check Tip.
This is most useful for checking weather status just before a ride and on a questionable day. What I have recommended in the past (and is still valid) is to simply to check the weather radar just before your ride if you think that you may get rain during your ride.
Check Weather Radar for Rain
Personally, I don’t mind a little sprinkle of rain while I am on my ride but I don’t really like getting caught in a total downpour where you have to cover you electronics and wring out your cloths after your ride.
There are a number of weather radar sites and some are better than others so you need to find the one that is best for your particular area and you will want the animated radar loop so you can see what is coming. I use the Fox version the most (myfoxchicago.com for my area) and also the Chicago Tribune version. (I don’t like to post links to these since they seem to change a lot).
If it is more convienent to check the TV rather than a PC weather radar site, you can always check the local listing on The Weather Channel but you’ll need to wait for the local forecast to cycle through.
So basically the process is very simple. If you see a huge yellow, green or red mass heading toward where you are going to ride you can check the radar loop times and the direction of the precipitation to see if you will have enough time to get your ride in or not.
This has helped me numerous time to plan a ride when the weather looked very questionable. Most of the time it will look like rain (and the general forecast will say some percentage chance of rain for the day) but the weather radar will confirm that there is usually enough time to get a ride in (or not, of course).
Weather.com Hourly Forcast
An Even Easier Way To Check for Rain:
OK, so now here is the latest update to this process that I have recently discovered (from a friend of mine).
The Weather Channel Website now has an Hourly Forcast, including percentage chance of rain, based on your zip code. Actually you can break it down even further but I think hourly is sufficient for the most part.
This is even more convenient than checking the weather radar loop (although, if the weather is questionable, I will usually check both).
Unfortunately, the photo on the right is for a beautiful sunny day and there is really no need to check (and I need to finish this to get out there for a ride!!! 🙂 )
What you will want to check, regarding rain, is the percentage for “Precip” for each hour (just under the hourly temperatures).
I have ridden when the percentages are in the 60s but I guess that each person and each situation will have a different tolerance level regarding the chance of rain. If I know that I will never be more than a few miles away, I can handle a much higher risk than if I am planning a ride where I may end up hours away from shelter or from my starting point.
If you are planning a long ride and may get caught in the rain, check out the rain gear (via our merchant links) at our Bike Clothing Page.
So anyway, I have found the procedures above to be very helpful and I hope that you may find this information helpful too (if you are not already aware of this).