How to get weather forecasts at Yellowstone?
We'll be camping at Yellowstone for a week. What solutions are there to get weather forecasts?
I am aware of:
NOAA weather radio: would prefer to avoid if there's anything better because it's bulky and costly (for something that's only used this once and only works in the US)
Smartphone + data plan: do not have a smartphone
Sign up for text message alerts: weather.com had a service, but despite the still existing webpage it appears to be discontinued (no command works and calling support plays a message saying that subscriptions are discontinued).
Are there other simple solutions that I may have missed?
My cell phone does have a standard FM receiver built in.
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A forecast should be posted daily at all ranger stations and visitor centers in the park. This will be the most reliable (i.e. not dependent on technology) way to get an up-to-date forecast.
On the National Weather Service website, it says the following:
The National Weather Service does not provide direct email/SMS alerts to the general public.
However, they do have a list of alternative sources for weather alerts via SMS and email. The text service by weather.com looks to be the most promising from what I can see. It appears to be much more up-to-date than the weather.com page you linked to, perhaps it's superceded the page you found.
Most cell carriers allow you to send and receive very short emails via text message. If you send a new text message to an email address instead of a phone number, you'll see what email address corresponds to the phone. For example, mine is <myphonenumber>@vzwtexts.com. You could then use that email address to subsribe to weather alerts if you find a service you like that isn't available via SMS but is available via email.
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Update after coming back from Yellowstone:
I was originally looking for a way to get frequent weather forecast by text message. As @studiohack pointed out in the comments, cell phone coverage is very spotty in Yellowstone. I have never managed to catch an AT&T signal. Don't count on being able to use a cell phone. That said, Weather Underground can send frequent weather forecasts, not only severe weather alerts (like most services).
The best advice is the one from @nhinkle. Look for weather forecasts at ranger stations, general stores, etc. They have it posted.
These are however daily forecasts, and again as @studiohack mentioned, the weather changes quickly there. A sunny day (and sunny forecast) doesn't mean that there won't be a hailstorm the same night (it happened while we were there).
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