828 Weather Direct
Hyper-local Asheville forecast built by Tim Ballisty
828 Weather Update

828 Sunset Radiance

A near-live read on Asheville's western sky, blending the sky camera, cloud texture, moisture, and evening timing into one sunset index.

See the sky Plan sunset
-- Overall Sunset Radiance Index for the Asheville sky
Loading Near-live sky condition from the western camera view
-- Next local sunset timing from the forecast feed
Live sky loading
Clouds --
West -- / ENE --
Humidity --
Rain chance --
Radiance window --

Sky Snapshot

Current YouTube thumbnail from the rotating downtown Asheville western sky camera
Loading

Reading the western sky.

The camera snapshot will update automatically.

-- Western sky clouds
-- ENE East Asheville clouds
-- Sunlight signal
-- Sky read confidence
What is this?

How confident the camera analysis is in its current sky read, based on cloud cover, contrast, sunlight, blue-sky signal, fog, and night conditions.

-- Camera capture

Live Camera Desk

Start with the wide Chamber feed, then compare the paired UNC Asheville and Fairview views for cloud direction, visibility, and changing light.

Asheville Chamber of Commerce · Live. Primary visual cross-check for local cloud texture, visibility, and changing light. Open stream.
UNC Asheville · South. Looking back toward downtown Asheville from the Atmospheric Sciences tower, with the latest image refreshed about every 15 minutes.
2,357 ft 35.62180° N, 82.56606° W
View EcoNet weather station · Weather Tower details
Fairview · North. About 10 miles southeast of Asheville, looking north toward the city and surrounding mountains.
About 2,224 ft 10 mi southeast of Asheville
View Tempest weather station
Downtown Asheville · West. Rotating view across the sunset-facing horizon. Open on YouTube.
Sky media

Radiance Signals

Great color usually needs enough cloud texture to catch low-angle light, enough clearing to reveal it, and limited rain or fog near sunset.

Cloud texture

Loading sky texture

Cloud cover near sunset is the biggest ingredient in the index.

Moisture

Checking humidity

A little haze can help color, but fog or rain can flatten the view.

Clearing

Watching for breaks

Blue sky, sunlight, and improving trends lift the score.

Window

Finding sunset

The best color window usually opens shortly before the listed sunset.

Asheville Light Curve

Loading sunrise and sunset timing for Asheville, North Carolina.

-- Sunrise
-- Sunset
-- Daylight
-- Best color window
-- Solar position

Plan The Glow

Use the score as a quick go/no-go, then let the sky snapshot decide how early to head outside or whether to aim for a higher overlook.