By Angela Skane, St. Petersburg High

Hair is my favorite form of expression. The trends and styles offer endless opportunities for a change-up, and trends vary so often that it’s a fun challenge to keep up. (I usually look to red carpet events or photos of celebs on the cover of US Weekly or People for ideas.) But too often, our hair’s behavior dictates how we style it — and nothing affects our lovely tresses more than the weather.

That’s where a particularly helpful website comes in. Every day before you leave the house, I recommend checking out hairforecast.com.

Enter your Zip code, and on a scale of 1 to 10, the site will tell you what kind of hair day you’re going to have. You get accustomed to what the numbers mean after about a week. See, I know I can only straighten my curly locks when the forecast says 8, 9 or 10. Plus, not only will you benefit from knowing how much water is in the air that day, but the site donates all the advertising money it generates to Blood Water Mission, which provides clean drinking water throughout Africa. Pretty cool.

In the upcoming spring season, a forecast of showers calls for nixing the hair straightening we became so accustomed to this past winter. Here are some other trends to consider as our Florida winter comes to an end:

The middle part: This soft look is a timeless style. It often works best if you find yourself between haircuts with long layers and a long bang. Simply part your hair while it is still damp and let it dry with this part. Soft waves or just natural looking hair fit this best; straight hair will be too flat. Perfect to go with the floral patterns this spring.

Ombre hair: This is the mainstream, “unhip” version of dip dye (see our dip dye DIY). Personally, I love this trend, and have had my hair done this way before. The ombre, or color melting, style fades from a darker hair color to a lighter, natural-looking color. It isn’t as extreme as the reds, blues, and pinks of dip dye hair, but it can add edge and dimension to any look. I especially love it with curls because you can really see the different color tones spiraling together.

Half-up/half-down poof: Instead of the simple half-up look secured with a hair elastic, try pinning back the front parts of your hair, adding a little oomph as you pin it. Tease your hair to get more body. If you do it in two separate parts, you can avoid the beehive look. Leave a few front pieces of hair out to frame your face. Goes well with soft waves. If your hair forecast calls for it, this also looks sleek and sophisticated with glossy straight hair. Very chic, very 1960s.  

No matter what kind of hair you have, embrace it. A cool hair style can accentuate outfits and be the perfect confidence booster. Try out some of these looks with your personal touch, like ribbons, bows or embellished pins.

Photos courtesy of realbeauty.com, Glamour.com and About.com, respectively.