Check weather, road conditions and traffic cams

I just got back from a 400-mile car trip with my daughter Janis. We drove through some fairly bad weather and snow-covered roads, but thanks to the Internet we were well prepared.

Prior to leaving we looked up hourly weather reports and road conditions. And along the way, using Janis's web-enabled cellphone, we checked traffic cams for real-time pictures of where we were headed.

These helped us decide which route to take. (BTW, nothing looked good, so we chose the road less traveled...)

If you want to check weather and road conditions for your next trip, here are some ways to do it:

1. Google search - use search terms such as:
[town or city] weather - e.g., Denver weather
[geographical area] road conditions - e.g. western New York road conditions
[location] traffic cam - e.g. Florida turnpike traffic cam


2. For up-to-the-minute road conditions and construction zones, check your state or provincial department of transportation.

Here's a link to those in the USA

. . . and in Canada

Both USA and Canada

If you're in another country, search your federal or regional government's website for road and traffic information.


3. See maps and charts of developing weather conditions at weather.com and Weather Underground.

Both of these have applications for your mobile phone

Keep in mind that weather is not totally predictable, and that conditions could be better or worse than expected.

Thus, be prepared. These brochures will give you some guidelines:
Ohio Dept of Public Safety: Winter Driving Tips
Alaska Dept of Public Safety: What's So Different About Winter Driving?
Have a safe and happy holiday season!


Pauline
teachmeinternet.com