Source for weather forcasting

[mwph]

What source do you rely on most for weather forcasting?

The local guys are so vague that the information is almost useless.

The Weather Channel on line often conflicts with The Weather Channel on TV & both of them are sometimes off target by 8-10 hours.

 

[ChuckW]

My two favorite sources are accuweather.com for radar on my PDA and NOAAs interactive forecasting tool. Here's a sample link for MA waters. http://www.erh.noaa.gov/ndfd/graphical/sectors/boxMarineDay.php#tabs

 

[KIMO]

Sometimes I think the weatherman is rolling the bones and reading his tea leaves, but even still I like Accuweather (www.accuweather.com) and WeatherUnderground (www.wunderground.com). WeatherUnderground has a neat feature that gives you local weather as observed currently at many small (public and private) weather stations ...very neat.

Another useful source for conditions are waterfront webcam sites. Out here in Southern California we have Watch the Water (www.watchthewater.org) which shows beach views from cams mounted on top of many Lifeguard towers (great for checking fog and wave conditions), and Visit Catalina (www.visitcatalinaisland.com/avalon/webcam2.php) which allows you to see if moorings are available.

 

[sbw1]

weather.com is what I use. I watch it for three days when planning for extended runs to see what patterns are developing. On the day of travel I look at the hourly weather along the route and at the final destination. I also look at the weather map to see where the fronts are and what type they are. Lastly, I watch the radar to see where the rain is and its direction of movement. Big thunderstorms light up my radar screen when it's set to 72 miles and I follow local storms on progressively shorter ranges down to 12 miles or so. If it looks like I'm going to run into really bad weather, I will duck into a small lake along the route and let the storm pass. I rarely do this, mostly by not traveling when that is apt to happen. We routinely travel in rain and squalls but avoid T-storms.

 

[tdappleman]

I second the Weather Underground site - they even have a marine section which gives more detail on wind direction/speed, etc. I get it from the phone as well - m.wund.com.

 

[H2ONUT]

Looking out the window seems to be the most reliable :lol:

I use accuweather also.

 

[fxsales]

+1 for accuweather.com on my blackberry.
j

 

[VTSeaRay]

Sometimes I think the weatherman is rolling the bones and reading his tea leaves, but even still I like Accuweather (www.accuweather.com) and WeatherUnderground (www.wunderground.com). WeatherUnderground has a neat feature that gives you local weather as observed currently at many small (public and private) weather stations ...very neat.

Another useful source for conditions are waterfront webcam sites. Out here in Southern California we have Watch the Water (www.watchthewater.org) which shows beach views from cams mounted on top of many Lifeguard towers (great for checking fog and wave conditions), and Visit Catalina (www.visitcatalinaisland.com/avalon/webcam2.php) which allows you to see if moorings are available.

:smt043:lol::grin::thumbsup: re: I was ROFLMA0 on your rolling the bones and tea leaves comment... I'm not sure if my weathermen have the bones knowledge yet. I use Accuweather.com and the local public/private wunderground (via WeatherExchange.exe) weather stations normally. I also swing out to all the webcams I know of on both sides of the lake, and check those out too.

I'm afraid our weathermen are out for ratings, what with their "super duper weather 5000 doppler radar" and their ads telling how one should listen to the weather channel to survive. sheesh... give me a break. Sure, if we were in hurricane or tornado or earthquake areas, but we're not. Worst we get is some flooding, and if you're that close to a river/stream, you probably know better than some weatherman 50 miles away is going to know of how high your river is. We don't get the flash flooding they get out west, our mountains aren't that tall. Usually you can see any weather that will affect the stream /river you're near. And, if you're not prepared for it, well, that's Darwin at work again.

-VtSeaRay

 

[Four Suns]

You ever wonder why weather forecasts and horoscopes are on the same page in the newspaper? The same people write them...

There is no such thing as weather prediction. That would be like having a "likable jg300da," or a "humble Kearny," or a "smart Pelosi," or a "nice looking Tiara." If you believe in weather prediction, go buy a lottery ticket. You'll have better odds.

The big advance in weather is the ability to get real-time data and make decisions as SBW1 said... God I hate agreeing with him. I need to go get a drink.

 

[PMC]

or a "humble Kearny,"

Ha! - just read the iPhone rant -too funny

 

[ApexNC250DA]

Here in North Carolina, we waterboard the local weather man until he gives us the correct weather forecast!! The problem is he seems to enjoy it!!

 

[Henry Boyd]

Gary,

Weren't you looking at the Airmar Weatherstation instrument a few months ago? Did you ever take the plunge? How did it work out?

Henry

 

[Four Suns]

I got the Airmar weather station a few years ago. It's one of the do-hickies on one of the spreaders on my electronics mast.

I love it... It's tied into my NMEA network as well as serving as a backup GPS with automatic failover... came in handy when the RN300 display and the Raystar 125 crapped out when we got beat to crap going to block island last summer...

It displays all the wind data on the primary chartplotter network as well as the PC network. It's tied to the Coastal Explorer program and shows up as a gauge:

It also lets me know how bad the "forecast" is off. Like last year... crossing the Hellaware Bay and the forcast was S at 5-10 knots and it ended up being SE at 27 knots... against the tide... so there was comfort in knowing the weatherman lied as my boat got beat to sh!t....

In a nutshell, it's a weatherman lie detector.

Also, I wrote about some of the issues I had with it in the Chesapeake Bay write up a few years ago:

http://clubsearay.com/forum/showthread.php?t=3685&highlight=Grace&page=6

 

[rondds]

I'll relyh on whatever source of live radar I can find for weather that's on it's way. Weather Channel's "Local on the 8's" or even the tv news works for that purpose. I don't pay much (if any) attn to the text of the forecast or the talking-head "meteorologist/weather hottie." Just the radar loop.

For looking further forward (say, to the weekend), weather.com. Percent chance of rain is really all that matters to me. What sucks is that I have the DISH at the boat (so no "Local on the 8's). Anyone have Sirius weather?

Notice NO ONE relies very much on NOAA!

 

[Four Suns]

Actually, NOAA is great at data... just not prediction. All the NEXRAD radar images for XM or Sirius weather are from NOAA...

http://radar.weather.gov/

Most weather software packages just repackage NOAA data in a more user friendly form.... I remember a couple years ago that congress had a bill proposed to shut down NOAA from giving away the data for free as it was interfering with "real businesses" trying to do the same. It was shot down.

 

[rondds]

just not prediction

Precisely. They'll tell you when a severe t-storm is approaching, they'll tell you the wind speed and water temperature at some remote buoy in the North Atlantic. Just don't expect them to get it right about the weather next Tuesday.

 

[Four Suns]

next Tuesday?! They can't do 30 minutes!

 

[mwph]

Thanks guys. As usual I'm better off after asking a question on CSR.

After about 6 weeks of clouds & rain I'll be on the water this weekend - Mid 80's, clear & sunny. Just me & the Admiral - no rain - no guests - no worries!

Gary - un freakin real. Great threads, thanks for taking the time to post them.

 

[earthmover17]

Just tried to make a crossing to the Bahamas last Thursday. The morning of, NOAA said 2 to 4's got 30 miles out more like 8 to 10's. I'm not all that familer with how NOAA is connected with the wave bouys but I thought they had that info. Needless to say I trust nothing but what I see myself.

Jack

 

[sbw1]

You ever wonder why weather forecasts and horoscopes are on the same page in the newspaper? The same people write them...

There is no such thing as weather prediction. That would be like having a "likable jg300da," or a "humble Kearny," or a "smart Pelosi," or a "nice looking Tiara." If you believe in weather prediction, go buy a lottery ticket. You'll have better odds.

The big advance in weather is the ability to get real-time data and make decisions as SBW1 said... God I hate agreeing with him. I need to go get a drink.

Enjoy your umbrella drink.