General area forecast, radar, and satellite
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/Monterey/
San Jose International (SJC) observations
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/wrhq/GetMetar.cgi?SJC+Column
Salinas (SNS) observations
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/wrhq/GetMetar.cgi?SNS+Column
Here is one caution about the SNS observations. I suspect if the observer
sees stars he marks clear. There have been some instances where there were
high thin clouds and SNS reported clear. This is probably OK for a local
airport, but not helpful for astronomy.
SJC forecast
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/getproduct.pl?XXXSFOTAFSJCD
SNS forecast
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/getproduct.pl?MTRSFOTAFSNSD
Other airport sites (forecast and observation {TAF})
http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/Monterey/sfcobs.html
Some other interesting ones are Paso Robles (for LSA) and Monterey. There
are no major airports close to Dino.
Winds aloft (a hint of what the seeing is like)
http://aviationweather.gov/fdwinds/text/zoa_fd1.shtml
Magic decoder ring for the aviation stuff
http://205.156.54.206/oso/oso1/oso12/document/jan96sum.htm
I like the aviation stuff because they tend to update it often and it
represents the best info available. Also the cloud description, while
technical, gives a more accurate picture of the astronomy impact than
"partly cloudy". Just remember the caveat that I said last night. The
hourly forecasts are more accurate at showing trends than timing.
I am also playing with the digital forecasts that can be accessed off the
Monterey page. These are highly detailed and the current table version gives
a forecast for 1am, 7am, 1PM, and 7PM. So far these have been pretty good.
They are not updated as often as the aviation stuff.
Finally I have been watching the composite, short-range radar images. I am
still evaluating whether this is a useful tool for astronomy.
Rob Hawley
Is there an easy way to access Salinas airport weather? That sounds like a
useful source and one that can save an East Bay fellow from wasting three
hours on a futile trip to the peak.
Best regards
Richard