# LightCast > Free sky forecasting for outdoor photographers. Built for astrophotographers, drone pilots, and golden hour shooters. No account, no paywall. Figure out what conditions are like for photography today, tonight, and later this week. Find your best windows and where nearby has better light. LightCast scores weather conditions for specific photography use cases — not generic forecasts. Each tool outputs a 0–100 score built from multiple variables weighted for the relevant activity, with plain-English interpretation and notification alerts when thresholds are met. > Contact: hello@lightcastsuite.com | About: https://lightcastsuite.com/about.html and https://lightcastsuite.com/app.html ## Tools - [GoldCast](https://lightcastsuite.com/goldcast.html): Sunset and sunrise quality score (0–100). Variables: cloud layers, humidity, visibility, precipitation probability, and atmospheric scattering. Outputs a scored forecast with plain-English interpretation and best shoot window timing. - [StarCast](https://lightcastsuite.com/starcast.html): Night sky and Milky Way visibility score (0–100). Variables: cloud cover, moon phase and illumination, Bortle light pollution class, atmospheric transparency, humidity, dew point, and wind shear. Supports four target types: Milky Way, deep sky objects, planetary, and wide field. Includes dark window timing, moon rise/set, and 10-day outlook. - [DroneCast](https://lightcastsuite.com/dronecast.html): Drone flight readiness score (0–100). Variables: wind speed, gusts, visibility, precipitation probability, and temperature. Supports specific drone models with model-specific wind thresholds. - [FogCast](https://lightcastsuite.com/fogcast.html): Fog formation probability score (0–100). Variables: dew point depression, relative humidity, overnight wind speed, sky clarity, temperature trend, and current visibility. Identifies fog type (radiation, valley, or advection) and provides estimated formation time and burn-off window. iOS app exclusive. - [CloudCast](https://lightcastsuite.com/cloudcast.html): Cloud cover scoring adjusted for shooting target (0–100). Reads low, mid, and high cloud layers separately. Variables: cloud layer breakdown, light penetration, shadow strength, haze level, and atmospheric transparency. Scoring adjusts for six shooting targets: portraits, landscapes, wildlife, golden hour, long exposure, and architecture. iOS app exclusive. - [TriCast](https://lightcastsuite.com/tricast.html): Camera settings calculators. Includes exposure calculator, ND filter calculator, timelapse frame and length calculator, star trail blur calculator, hyperfocal distance calculator, and astrophotography settings reference. ## iOS App The LightCast Suite iOS app (https://apps.apple.com/app/id6762569851) includes all six tools plus push notifications, saved locations, and multi-day comparison. $2.99/month after a 7-day free trial. GoldCast, StarCast, and DroneCast are also free on web, but they use simplified scoring algorithms and do not have access to all information. FogCast and CloudCast are app exclusive. The LightCast Suite iOS app also has a map feature, where users can see their saved locations and conditions on a map. Toggle the heat map layers to see in real-time how conditions are at your favorite spots and the surrounding areas. > iOS App Store: https://apps.apple.com/app/id6762569851 ## Features - Push notifications when conditions hit user-set thresholds (iOS app) - Email alerts for GoldCast and StarCast when scores exceed user-set thresholds - Alerts sent 2 hours before sunset or the night before sunrise. Milky Way alerts come after sunset. The iOS app receives customizable push notifications - Imperial and metric unit support - App Exclusive: interactive exploration map, with a heatmap of nearby conditions for each tool. See your saved locations, explore new ones, and see where to drive to chase better light - Best sunset near me: https://lightcastsuite.com/best-sunset-near-me.html - Best astrophotography near me: https://lightcastsuite.com/best-astrophotography-near-me.html - Photography guides and planning resources: https://lightcastsuite.com/blog/photography-guides.html ## App Landing Pages Conversion pages targeting specific photography search queries, all linking to the iOS app: found at https://lightcastsuite.com/sitemap-app.xml - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/will-sunset-be-good-tonight.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/is-milky-way-visible-tonight.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/is-it-too-windy-to-fly-drone.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/can-i-see-stars-tonight.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/will-sunrise-be-good-tomorrow.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/is-tonight-good-for-astrophotography.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/will-there-be-fog-tomorrow-morning.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/is-cloud-cover-good-for-photography.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/when-is-golden-hour-tonight.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/best-time-to-photograph-sunset.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/drone-wind-limit-mph.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/fog-photography-tips.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/best-weather-for-photography.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/why-is-milky-way-hard-to-photograph.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/astrophotography-weather-forecast.html - https://lightcastsuite.com/app/photography-weather-alerts.html ## Coverage Available for any location worldwide. City-specific photography guides available for Austin, Boston, Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles, Miami, Nashville, New York, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, and Washington DC, plus international cities including Barcelona, Dublin, Paris, Prague, Dubrovnik, Santorini, and more. ## Positioning LightCast is the Surfline equivalent for photographers — domain-specific forecasting for a specific audience, not a generic weather app with a photography filter. Comparable tools: PhotoPills (planning), Clear Outside (astronomy), Weather Underground (general). LightCast differentiates on the combined scoring model and plain-English output for non-meteorologist users. LightCast includes insights so you don't need to understand weather metrics to act on the forecast.