what weather reporting service should we trust for planning?

james mauldin

james mauldin

New member
Missed a day of work here in Michigan yesterday for an 80% chance of rain that never happened. What service is the best to follow?
 
I will normally look at NOAA and Weather channel for their forecast and then make up my own mind after I watch both radars. It normally works out ok for me, on occasion I get a little wet or we just bag it when it starts to look bad. But we do live in what we affectionately call the bubble. When you need rain, all the storms break up just before they get here. And when you don’t need it, get your kayak out.:berrinche:
 
We are equipment dependent. Small crew with loaders, we can accomplish alot in short time but can't work on wet grass without making a mess. Plywood will blow the schedule but it gets used.
 
flyingsquirrel25 said:
I will normally look at NOAA and Weather channel for their forecast and then make up my own mind after I watch both radars.....
Click to expand...

^^^This. 25 years in commercial construction with 15 of that overseeing all field activities of 80-150 people taught me to check a couple of services and judge for myself what was coming and when. I got very good at it.

If you simply rely on the forecast, you might as well flip a coin.
 
cerviarborist said:
Grandma's rheumatism.. Accept no substitute.
Click to expand...

1. Many years ago, (I seem to reply to a lot of threads with that intro !),
my mother gave me a New Hampshire weather tool. Which I still use !
It is 3 strands of brightly colored wool yarn, braided into a 6” length.
It came with instructions, and I still use it.

You hang it outside:

“If it is wet ……… it’s raining.
If it’s moving ……… it’s windy.
Etc. ………….”

2. I have the Weather Channel on my computer home page.
I also have the Weather Channel DeskTop App (which is supposed to update automatically).
They frequently do NOT agree !

3. I don’t know !
 
My logging boss had 4 or so forecasts, and said that he just picks the one he likes the best that day. Want a rain day? One of em should have a high precipitation percentage.

So I know that's not helpful. I use weatherbug: check hourly forecast against radar, know the norms, and plan accordingly.
 
It costs too much to go out and start a job, get rained out pickup and come back out the next day to start again. Double drive time, start up and lock the truck, time alone pulls $300 at least off a job. Then turf repair if you continue in the rain no profit left. Customers hate when we cancel, employees with bills hate it when it doesn't rain on a rain day. I watch local news, then check out the weather channel and at least 2 radars before calling off for the day. Still get caught out sometimes
 
james mauldin said:
It costs too much to go out and start a job, get rained out pickup and come back out the next day to start again. Double drive time, start up and lock the truck, time alone pulls $300 at least off a job. Then turf repair if you continue in the rain no profit left. Customers hate when we cancel, employees with bills hate it when it doesn't rain on a rain day. I watch local news, then check out the weather channel and at least 2 radars before calling off for the day. Still get caught out sometimes
Click to expand...

In the end, thats being a business owner. Those are the choices you have to make and stand behind. We can always find something to keep us busy on rain days. Whether its ground work, stump griding or equipment maintenance, there is always something that needs to get done. We got rained on today, but knew that ahead of time and planned stumps, no big deal.
 
"I watch local news, then check out the weather channel and at least 2 radars before calling off for the day. Still get caught out sometimes"

But 80% usually means rain; tough call!
 
Thanks for all the all the comments. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy in my expectations of the forecasters. I do the same things but end up with varied results
 
If its a strong wind, stay home.

If its a drop of rain and mild breeze, leave an umbrella canopy on the tree and work from the best side to keep dry and safe.

It's only 40mph gusts that put me off on doing the work, risk assessment is based off 25mph gusts, but I quite like using the wind to my advantage.
 
On windy days I habitually watch the trees in direction the wind is coming from to cut using the wind as advantage. As often as not it's to wait so you can top a lead into a gap in the wind
 
Last edited:
Man, I may be new around here, but my $0.02 is in regards to you ears eyes and knees... Work until it rains and pack up when it pours. I know, poor soldiers who get wet... But you know what? We are outdoorsman... Can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen. Crying about weather pisses me off. Site we have nice things like washers, driers, a/c, electricity and internet, but that does NOT mean the entire arboriculture community has to bend over backward to keep your "rugged" ass comfortable.

If tree work were easy, we would be out of a job.

I'm not saying climb around a slickamore while it's ice or rain, or an oily moss covered oak when it's wet, but certainly there are avanues to cover in the meantime. Fact it's we are forced to hire weak willed kids who don't know the meaning of perseverance anymore, so we "have" to accommodate, but those of us worthy of the title can surely instill some sense of domination over the elements.

Safety first, but don't be a wuss either kiddos
 
Bottom lines are what I look at. If it's going to cost me more money in the rain - grass repair, slower trips to the chipper, road and driveways looking like crap because you can't cleanup as well when it's wet, or worse not being able to use loaders. I know whine whine no loader, but all jobs are bid with best utilization of assets in mind. I don't know how many guys are average but I run 3 and making 20 man size trips or making 5 loader trips makes sense to me. We used an arbor cart on a 70' double stem cherry the other day and 4 trips out of a backyard and all the wood was out, 12 10' logs probably average 300 lbs each. You just can't be as productive in the mud and not spend the profit on turf repair. And asking crews to work 10 hour days 6 days a week doesn't go so well if they're miserable, we work in the winter down to about 5-10 degrees, below that and diesel and hydraulics don't go so well.
I pay show up time if we get rained out so early calls are important. Jikeidan you're right the younger generations are becoming sissies my average crew age is 45 because finding CDL drivers and hard dependable workers is getting to be impossible. Overhead is high and doing jobs the caveman way is fine but I spent my $ on equipment to save my and my guys backs. Work slows down so bad when everything is wet that I would prefer to take care of all the other issues that need addressing than break even in the rain.
 
I worked line clearance for Asplundh when I started 40 hours of work per work no matter what was the contract. Everything short of lightning and 35+ winds, we worked, Sat or Sun to get caught up. Stand in the bucket with water rising, rain down the back climbing. 2 man crews- both climbers, switching trees back and forth dragging and chipping the rest of the time. It's hard to find a climber that won't cry about cleanup after they hit the ground. So bad weather is just a monetary decision.
 
20 ton crane goes a long way with a capable ground crew and a good climber... Worth the investment, and pays for itself quickly
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

New threads New posts

Back
Top Bottom