Where Do You Get Your Weather?

By: Cruising Tips, Weather

Where do you get your weather info before you go sailing?

I sit in front of a computer, miles away from my sailboat, and I make a plan for the coming week of sailing. I check the weather. I check the forecast. My search becomes more extensive when on a charter or in unfamiliar waters. If it’s hurricane season, I become an amateur meteorologist. 

What do you check?

Here are some options the next time you need to plan a sail with the weather in mind.

Mobile App

Do you look at your phone while sailing? Ok, well then, you can utilize a mobile app to make sure you have an updated weather forecast.

Predict Wind

https://www.predictwind.com/apps/

Weather forecast models globally with three unique tools, weather routing, departure planning, and forecast alerts.

SailFlow

https://www.sailflow.com/

Real-time reports from exclusive pro weather stations, professional meteorologist forecasts, and lots more.

Windy

https://www.windy.com/?33.968,-120.094,8

Easy to use free weather app for mobile and a desktop.  You get everything from wind to current to air quality. Highly customizable to fit your own excursions.

Where do I get real-time and forecast coastal conditions?

If you haven’t discovered NOAA’s nowCOAST, today is your lucky day.  This interactive map gives you real-time information on the waters around North America.  The map has the ability to toggle on and off different information that allows you to customize your view.

According to NOAA:

NOAA’s nowCOAST is a GIS-based webmap service that provides frequently updated weather and ocean observations along with coastal and marine weather forecasts 24 hours a day. The free online map viewer offers point-and-click access to 60 NOAA data products and services all in one place. With nowCOAST, you can get a one-stop-shop look at coastal conditions — real-time and forecast — before you do or plan anything on the water.

https://nowcoast.noaa.gov/

Take a look at the Mariner version, and you will be even more impressed: Already programmed to display are the High Seas Marine Forecast and Coastal Marine Forecast.  

https://nowcoast.noaa.gov/mariner.html

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