Yes. Every forecast, map and model is free to use, and you don't need an account. Signing in is optional and only saves your favourite spots and settings across your devices.

In the mountains the air usually gets about 6 °C colder for every 1,000 m you climb. Rain in the valley can be heavy snow at the top of the lifts. Snow Now corrects each forecast to the height you choose.

The freezing level is the height where the air is 0 °C. Above it, rain and snow usually fall as snow. The snow line is normally a few hundred metres below the freezing level.

Weather models smooth out the mountains. Each square of a model has one average ground height, which can be 1,000 m or more below the peaks, and the model's own snowfall figure is for that average height. So it often shows too little snow at the top of a resort and too much at the bottom. Snow Now takes each model's rain and snow (as water) and its freezing level, and works out how much falls as snow at the height you choose, at about 10 cm of snow for every 10 mm of water. That is why the top, middle and bottom of a resort show different amounts, and why our totals can differ from apps that show the model's own snowfall.

Each model starts from slightly different data and uses its own maths and grid size. When the models agree, the forecast is more certain. When they spread apart, expect the weather to change and keep your plans flexible.

It depends on where you are. Snow Now's accuracy check compares each model's recent forecasts with nearby weather stations, judging mountain spots on snow and rain and sea spots on wind, so you can see which model has done best there.

Up to 14 days. The first 2 to 3 days are the most reliable; beyond 5 to 7 days, use the forecast as a guide to trends rather than exact numbers.