STORMS – How to Avoid Them and What to Do When They Hit

[Alex F]

On your cell phone, text 42278 enter sea (for sea conditions) and your area code or city and state. You'll get a text back with the city, sky conditions, high and low temps, wind speed and direction, wave height, and sea conditions, and water temp, you'll also get a link to alerts for the area.

You can also sign up for text alerts. You can specify which alerts you would like to be notified of and you'll get a text when that alert pops up.

Mike,
This is great tip to have text alert sent to your phone. I use them to get email notifications and after reading your post I checked for more options. I found only one problem, which is limitation for only one region. Do you have a suggestion how to trick this (other than manually change the location you're travelling to)?

 

[sbw1]

Can you share your method of radar settings adjustemnts to track the storms?

I start at the 72 mile range and look for the tops of big storms with gain set to automatic offshore. They show up as blue and yellow returns that are quite small and they move around. I watch them to see if they they are moving toward me, crossing or away from my heading. I drop the range down from 72 miles and look around some more. Once I get the general picture I run at a 12 mile range knowing that any storm 12 miles out will be reached in about 30 minutes. I eyeball my heading relative to what is ahead of me and can see the storm's direction and how it is likely to affect the boat. If there is traffic ahead, I drop down to 6 miles or less, acquire the marpa targets and keep and eye on the range and bearings of traffic, time to target and how close we will pass. When a dangerous target alarm lights up, I make a right turn away from the target if depths allow to put more space between our boat and the others. I return to my original heading when the traffic has cleared. I then return to the 12 mile range in order to get a bigger picture of conditions that we are likely to encounter during the next 30 minutes.

 

[jpk33]

Gary, I like your map idea - I have used my handheld GPS (emergency BU) for this but it is a pain to get it out of the ditch bag (and make sure it finds its way back in). I ususally watch one of the local network TV stations' secondary digital channels (they have 24hr local doppler radar) for local day trips. Cell phone with internet access has worked in the past for local radar when TV stations are unavailable.

 

[Daniel P Thomas]

Gary
I thought I was the only guy around that carried a State Farm issued Road Atlas.
It works as you said with NOAA.
Good suggestion for all of us.

Also works when we travel and get into a port we are not familiar with.

Dan

 

[uptimejeff]

Great thread...
As a new boater (2010 185 sport) I don't feel completely prepared for the inevitable run-in with foul weather... and being an 18 footer on the ICW is a concern....

We do all of our boating on the ICW off Tarpon Springs, St Pete and Anna Maria. We launch at the ramp nearest to our destination.

Yesterday, we were anchored at 3 Rooker Bar (near Tarpon Springs). We were on the calm east side of the bar with winds coming from the west. The boat was anchored both bow and stern with stern to the shore.

A storm was approaching and many pulled anchor and took off..... maybe 1 in 5 departed from a very busy day on the bar.

The storm didn't look too big, we didn't see any lightning and it looked like it might pass us by. We decided to stay on the bar. Didn't want to make a fast run in a little boat with winds starting to pickup... (and a very busy ramp)
Fortunately the storm did pass north of us and we enjoyed the rest of the day.

So to my question

- Obviously it's best to avoid an electrical storm.. but if we were caught in one.....
Considering an 18' boat, anchored off a sand bar with no buildings, protection... what do you do?
Better to be on the boat or on the beach? (scary to think about either way!)

 

[Alex F]

.....- Obviously it's best to avoid an electrical storm.. but if we were caught in one.....
Considering an 18' boat, anchored off a sand bar with no buildings, protection... what do you do?
Better to be on the boat or on the beach? (scary to think about either way!)

This link provides some answers for you: http://www.docksidereports.com/rough_water_seamanship_3.htm

I remember being caught in our 175BR. I guess, it's safe to state that this boat is 99% of the time is not the highest point considering all surrounding objects near by on shore. So, if you anchored near those higher objects chances are that they will be hit first if the lightning strikes very close (at least this is the theory we've been thought). So, I shut all electronics off, lower my antenna and we're tucked under the canvas. I also had the bow cover, which helps in this case. I don't think that getting your family soaked on the beach during the heavy rain and lighting is a better option. If there's some better shelter than your boat I'd use it, but if it's just wild beach with trees I'd stay in my boat.

Just my .02c.