How to check road conditions before you drive

The weather forecast you see on your phone is usually for the destination city. But on a 400 km trip you cross different microclimates — mountains closing in with fog, a valley collecting rain in the late afternoon, a plain with strong wind.

The result: you leave home with sun, hit a storm halfway there and arrive late. The solution is to split the route into stretches and check the forecast for the exact time you pass through each one.

Rain is the factor that changes travel time the most. Three things to watch:

• Chance of rain: anything above 60% on a mountain stretch deserves attention. Above 80%, consider leaving earlier or later.
• Time of day: in mountain highways, rain showers tend to concentrate in the late afternoon (4pm–7pm). Adjusting departure by 1-2 hours can avoid the worst.
• Stretch, not city: rain can be concentrated in 30 km of mountains and clear up for the rest of the trip. That's why forecast per stretch is decisive.

Fog is the invisible danger of mountain highways. It appears at dawn and early morning, in specific spots — and disappears minutes later. The forecast per stretch helps because it shows the exact time you'll pass through the mountains.

If the forecast for the mountain stretch shows fog for the time you're passing through, leaving 2 hours later usually solves it — fog generally dissipates as the sun rises.

Not all rain is a reason to postpone. But there are clear signs it's worth waiting:

• Severe storm on a mountain stretch — hydroplaning risk is high on downhill roads.
• Fog combined with rain — low visibility in the mountains is the most dangerous scenario.
• Hail or very strong wind warning — there may be fallen trees and road blockages.
• Snow on mountain routes in the South — RS-135 and RSC-453 mountains.

When a storm alert shows up, Rota Clima shows the approximate stretch and time the condition appears. That way you decide: leave earlier, leave later, or take the alternative route.