Here’s how you can predict the weather during your next vacation

Summer is just around the corner. And that means, if you’re lucky, you may be considering some summer travel. But no matter when or where your upcoming adventures take you, it’s always helpful to know what outside conditions you’ll be facing.

That’s where this interactive map that helps predict the weather comes in handy.

This online tool is available thanks to the good people at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). They aggregated a decade’s worth of data of weather patterns around the world at certain times of year. And now, it’s available online for free.

Because the data gathered comes from buoys, the main points you can see on the map are mostly along major oceans and waterways. So you may not be able to see your exact future vacation location on the map itself. But even if you don’t, you can at least see the data of a nearby city. From there, you can make a pretty educated guess about the weather.

You can insert the date or location (or both) of your upcoming trip.

The map will give you access to all the information it has about past weather patterns in that area.

And if you haven’t yet chosen a location for your next relaxing getaway, you can use the search tools on the map to narrow down when and where you want to go based on the type of weather you hope to experience while you’re away. 

Many parts of this information may be available online in different places already. But it’s really helpful to have it all in once place. It certainly makes planning (and especially packing) for you next getaway a lot easier.

Weather patters are, of course, unpredictable.

Hopefully, though, something like this will help you from getting surprised by a bunch of rainstorms when you were expecting bright blue skies.