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Mi padre viaja a pesar del pronóstico negativo.

Mi padre viaja a pesar del pronóstico negativo.
My father travels despite the negative forecast.
From Lesson 334:Despite and even though (a pesar de, a pesar de que)·Spanish (Spain)

Questions & Answers about Mi padre viaja a pesar del pronóstico negativo.

Why do we use a pesar de here instead of a pesar de que?
We use a pesar de when it is followed directly by a noun (like pronóstico) or an infinitive verb. If you wanted to follow it with a conjugated verb clause, such as "despite the fact that it is negative", you would need to use a pesar de que.
Why is it written as a pesar del instead of a pesar de el?
This is a quick reminder of a mandatory Spanish contraction. Whenever the preposition de is followed directly by the masculine singular article el ("the"), they must merge into del. Since pronóstico is masculine, a pesar de + el pronóstico becomes a pesar del pronóstico.
How would this sentence change if I wanted to use a conjugated verb, like "despite the fact that the forecast is negative"?
Because you are declaring a known, established fact, you would use a pesar de que followed by a verb in the indicative mood. The sentence would become: Mi padre viaja a pesar de que el pronóstico es negativo.
Could I leave out the article and just say a pesar de pronóstico negativo?
No, you generally need the definite article here because you are referring to a specific forecast that has been given. Just like in English where we say "despite the negative forecast", Spanish requires the article, resulting in the contraction del.

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