Takeoff Is Optional, Landing Manditory

You should be always gathering and updating information about existing (and evolving) weather, but conditions aloft will probably be different in some ways than those at ground level.   Do not presume that the same runway is active; acquire current information.   As you prepare to land, use imagination, thinking through what you intend to do and how you'll react to the unforeseen.   If you've been up and away for hours, things are nearly certain to have changed since takeoff, and when soaring conditions are strong the air down there might be wild also.   If a rain shower has recently moved across the landing area, expect a significant change in wind direction and strength.   (Even if the same runway is active, this could still mean a reversal of the prior crosswind.)