These links are useful for the general weather situation and forecast. Is it going to be sunny, hot, windy etc. The forecast discussion is full of weather technospeak, but it comes directly from the NOAA folks who are looking firsthand at the weather soundings and computer forecasts.
For paragliders, the winds aloft are really important, both for students and advanced cross county sky Gods. High winds aloft will tend to move downward as thermals mix up the atmosphere. Be careful of flying with light winds on the surface and high winds aloft, such as when an inversion is present : the surface winds can increase suddenly.
Links to sites and pages that provide weather information to general aviation pilots. These pages provide information usually targeted to pilots flying larger powered aircraft, but if you fly near an airport, the terminal area forecasts (TAFs) are useful as another source of wind data. Sometimes they can use hard to understand terms and abbreviations, so be sure to ask you instructor to expalain these if you don't understand them.
As part of the general aviation community we are required to check if we are allowed to fly in our intended airspace. The FAA issues notices to airmen (NOTAM's) to tell us of any restrictions. You can ask the weather briefer or look online.
Looking at the surface pressure maps will tell you the direction and strength of the regional wind. Sometimes the local thermals or geography can overpower the regional wind, but always be aware of the regional winds.
When a jet stream is close to or over your flying site, forecasting the weather can become difficult. The weather can change very quickly and unpredictably when so much energy in the atmosphere is close by. When there are high winds aloft in mountainous areas, waves can be set up that can cause very sudden and powerful wind shifts at the surface. Be careful.
Soaring forecasts will help you determine how thermic and soarable a particular day will be. Keep an eye on the Thermal Index which will give you an idea of how strong the conditions could potentially become during the day.
