Stop Checking Only the Rain Chance

Hello Reader!

The volatility of spring weather is here! We’ve had warming temperatures, periods of high wind as fronts move through, and of course spring thunderstorms. It has felt like an active spring season here in Ohio.

Which brings weather to top of mind for me, especially with the Great Smoky Mountains workshop just two weeks away. Weather can be challenging to forecast, but add in the complexity of the mountains and trying to make the right call for a workshop, and it becomes a whole other beast.

So this week, let’s talk about weather and what I look at beyond just whether it is going to rain.

There’s More to Weather Forecasts Than Rain

A lot of people will do a quick forecast check using the weather app on their phone to see if it is going to rain or not, maybe with a quick temperature check as well. For some, whether it rains or not is the deciding factor in whether they head out to photograph. For others, it helps decide where they are going to photograph, choosing one spot over another based on precipitation.

But there is so much more to the weather than the rain forecast. Rain is certainly one element to consider as you choose your location for the day. For example, I enjoy photographing waterfalls in the rain, or leaning toward woodland scenes where I might see some mist or atmosphere in the trees. On dry days, I might head more toward overlooks and broader views because of the increased visibility.

Beyond rain, I consider many other factors. Cloud cover is high on my list of forecast data to look at. Clouds have a tremendous effect on the kind of light you are going to get. A clear day can bring harsh light to bigger scenes. A partly cloudy day can offer the chance for dappled light on grand scenes. Overcast days can give softer, lower-contrast light, allowing for certain photography opportunities further into the day. And amazing sunsets and sunrises are often contingent on a nice layer of clouds with just the right openings to let light reach the bottoms of the clouds.

Wind is also a consideration. Strong winds might have me looking for scenes with less foliage in them, or heading deeper into the forest where the impact of the wind can be a little less than out on the edges.

Watching dew point, temperature, and wind can also give clues about possible fog in the morning. Fog can turn what might otherwise be ordinary scenes into unique photos of old favorites. And of course, temperature often impacts how I prepare for a day out on the trail more than anything else.

And all of these factors have a timing component, whether you are watching for rain, clouds, or wind. What might look like a bleak morning could clear by late afternoon and offer photographic opportunities later in the day. There is a lot to keep track of weather-wise as a landscape photographer.

While there can be a lot to keep track of if you want to maximize your opportunities, you do not need to be a weather expert to be successful. Start small and build your way up from there. Find your favorite weather app and get in the habit of studying it more closely, even when you aren’t headed out to photograph. It can help you become more comfortable with it, get a feel for its accuracy, and observe how a forecast translates into the actual weather.

If getting better at looking at the weather from a landscape photographer’s perspective is something you are interested in, I am doing a webinar this Thursday, April 9th, on weather forecasting for landscape photographers using Windy. This webinar will be heavy on the live-demo and will help show the basics of Windy and the layers I use most often for weather planning.

Upcoming Workshops

Registration for the Spring Great Smoky Mountains workshop has closed, but be sure to check out the Upcoming Workshops page for other workshops I have coming up in 2026!

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Until the next newsletter!

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~Jeffrey

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