HOW IT WORKS
Where the forecast
comes from.
A forecast helps you prepare. It can’t promise how your night will go.
Air quality is unknown
Air quality unknown. Air quality, wildfire smoke and ash are not monitored. No active NWS alerts does not mean safe air.
We have no independent AQI, PM2.5, wildfire or smoke feed. Smoke mentioned in an NWS forecast or notice remains provider wording, not measured air quality or complete smoke coverage. These limits also apply at campsites.
The hours that matter
We use National Weather Service forecasts for the forecast grid containing our sourced venue point. A large festival can span more than one grid cell; this is not a measurement at every stage or campsite. Forecasts are predictions, not observations. We only show the current and future hours NWS provides. If your dates are too far away, we’ll ask you to check back closer to the event. Today’s weather isn’t a forecast for your festival.
Times use the festival’s timezone, even when the last set ends after midnight. We also show the hour before gates open and the hour after closing, labeled as arrival and exit. If festival hours aren’t confirmed, we show the calendar day and hold off on attendance-based packing advice. Camping packing prompts use a separate 10 p.m.–8 a.m. planning window where recorded. That window is our convention, not verified campground opening hours, and it uses the same venue forecast point.
How recent is the forecast? Refresh times and limits
| Feed | Refresh goal | How we label it |
|---|---|---|
| Forecast | Every 30 minutes when requested | Current only when updated within 6 hours and fetched within 60 minutes. Older upstream cached responses also count toward age. Coverage is checked per day; supplemental apparent temperature and gust data must independently be no more than 6 hours old. |
| Alerts | Every 2 minutes while visible | Current only after a successful response in the last 5 minutes. Older upstream cached responses also count toward age. Issued, unexpired notices remain visible even when the hazard starts later; notice timing and expected hazard onset are shown separately. |
| Venue mapping | Daily when requested | The provider’s point-to-grid mapping can change. |
Once a forecast is no longer fresh, its values disappear from the guide and weather-based packing suggestions pause. We show an update availability message and a link to the official forecast. Elapsed intervals also disappear: predictions do not become recorded weather. If alerts can’t be checked, we say so and keep any unexpired notices visible as last-known alerts. Current venue alerts aren’t predictions for an event weeks away.
These are the refresh times we aim for. NWS availability and instructions can delay updates. This guide is not an emergency notification service.
Why something appears on your packing list
Attendance packing suggestions appear only when a recent forecast covers all confirmed festival hours. Camping prompts independently require full coverage of their planning window. We use the following cutoffs; they are reminders to prepare, not a score for how good or safe the night will be. A missing temperature, precipitation chance or wind speed stays unknown. Missing measurements never justify a favorable summary. For an event already underway, NWS may omit earlier hours; we show available intervals and mark the full-day coverage incomplete rather than invent historical weather. The hourly table and its ranges show only the current interval and future intervals; full-attendance coverage remains a separate check.
- 85°F actual temperature or 90°F provider apparent temperature: a warm stretch; check water and fan rules.
- 60°F or below during attendance or exit: a cooler-period layer.
- 30% or higher precipitation chance in a forecast interval: check the forecast description for rain, snow or other precipitation and consider permitted protection. Chances are never added together or presented as the chance for the entire festival.
- 25 mph gusts, or 20 mph sustained wind when gusts are missing: consider loose items and event restrictions.
- 55°F or below in a fully covered camping night: an extra overnight layer.
Temperatures and wind speeds are rounded to whole °F and mph. When NWS supplies a wind range, we show its upper end. Headline ranges and maxima use available measurements only; unknown hours or values stay marked. Gusts and apparent temperature come from the supplemental NWS grid and are omitted if their interval does not cover the displayed forecast interval.
These are not medical limits, hydration quantities or equipment safety ratings. This site does not detect lightning, measure mud, provide WBGT or decide cancellations. See NWS lightning guidance and follow official instructions.
Check this year’s rules
Every rule links to the organizer and shows which year’s festival it applies to and when we reviewed it. If sources disagree, a rule has expired, or we can’t confirm it, check with the organizer. We flag rules for another look after 30 days. In the week before an event, we flag anything checked more than seven days ago. A packing suggestion never overrides a banned item.
Past festivals remain dated history. We do not guess next year’s dates or transfer last year’s entry rules. Each year’s festival needs a fresh source review.
Who has the final say?
PLURCast is not affiliated with the festivals or NWS. Festival organizers and official authorities have the last word. About the guide