Caribbean Compass Yachting Magazine June 2016
Welcome to Caribbean Compass, the most widely-read boating publication in the Caribbean! THE MOST NEWS YOU CAN USE - feature articles on cruising destinations, regattas, environment, events...
Welcome to Caribbean Compass, the most widely-read boating publication in the Caribbean! THE MOST NEWS YOU CAN USE - feature articles on cruising destinations, regattas, environment, events...
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Weather Sources<br />
When was the last time you tapped the barometer to check<br />
the weather, or really observed the changing clouds? Yet<br />
weather prediction occupies a large part of a <strong>Caribbean</strong><br />
sailor’s attention. How do we look for weather forecasts today?<br />
According to Wikipedia, it was not until the invention of the electric telegraph in<br />
1835 that the modern age of weather forecasting began. Before that time, it was not<br />
widely practicable to transport information about the current state of the weather<br />
any faster than a steam train. By the late 1840s, the telegraph allowed reports of<br />
weather conditions from a wide area to be received almost instantaneously, allowing<br />
forecasts to be made from knowledge of weather conditions farther upwind. In the<br />
United States, the first public radio forecasts were made in 1925. Television forecasts<br />
followed in the 1940s. The Weather Channel began broadcasting in 1982.<br />
The technology used to disseminate weather forecasts is continually evolving.<br />
Although it’s been a long time since people tried to predict the weather by examining<br />
onion skins or seeing whether or not the groundhog went back in his hole, it has also<br />
been a while since mariners routinely listened to WWV radio for marine storm warnings.<br />
The use of once-popular weatherfax has, to a great extent, been replaced by GRIB.<br />
An article from<br />
Modern Mechanics magazine, 1932<br />
Although SSB radio or SatPhone is still indispensable, especially offshore, with<br />
WiFi so widely available in the <strong>Caribbean</strong>, increasing numbers of sailors now get<br />
their weather information from on-line sources. Here we present a selection that<br />
various <strong>Caribbean</strong> cruisers have recommended.<br />
Is your favorite weather website not listed here? Let us know!<br />
General Weather Websites<br />
• <strong>Caribbean</strong> Rainbow Loop: www.ssd.noaa.gov/goes/east/carb/flash-rb.html<br />
• Mike’s Weather Page: www.spaghettimodels.com<br />
• NOAA’s Environmental Visualization Laboratory: www.nnvl.noaa.gov (great satellite images,<br />
animations and more visual storm stuff)<br />
• NOAA Climate Discussion: www.climate.gov/news-features<br />
• NOAA Marine Forecasts: www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/home.htm<br />
• PassageWeather: http://passageweather.com (provides seven-day wind, wave<br />
and weather forecasts to help sailors with passage planning and weather routing)<br />
• US National Weather Service (for SW Atlantic):<br />
www.nws.noaa.gov/om/marine/swatlanticbrief.shtml<br />
• www.windyty.com (shows speed and direction of the wind for 14 days<br />
in about three-hour increments)<br />
JUNE <strong>2016</strong> CARIBBEAN COMPASS PAGE 7<br />
<strong>Caribbean</strong> National, Regional and Island Weather Websites<br />
• Barbados Weather Radar: www.barbadosweather.org/barbados-weather-Radar-SABDriver.php<br />
• <strong>Caribbean</strong> Weather: http://weather.org/caribbean.htm<br />
• Cuba Met Institute: www.met.inf.cu (in Spanish)<br />
• Curaçao Met Department: www.meteo.cw<br />
• Martinique Weather Radar:<br />
www.meteo.fr/temps/domtom/antilles/pack-public/animation/animMOSAIC_ant.html (in French)<br />
• Panama Weather: www.hidromet.com.pa/index.php (in Spanish)<br />
• St. Martin/Desperate Sailors: www.desperatesailors.com/page/weather/carib_sxm<br />
• St. Martin/SXM Cyclone/: www.sxmcyclone.com (in French)<br />
• Trinidad & Tobago Weather Radar: www.metoffice.gov.tt/radar<br />
• US National Weather Service (for USVI and Puerto Rico): www.srh.noaa.gov/sju<br />
Commercial Marine Weather Service Websites<br />
• Buoyweather: www.buoyweather.com (supplies free two-day forecasts in addition<br />
to paid-for custom forecasts)<br />
• Chris Parker’s Marine Weather Center: www.mwxc.com (paid-for custom forecasts)<br />
• Crown Weather Services: www.crownweather.com (provides a good Tropical Weather page<br />
in addition to paid-for custom forecasts)<br />
Hurricane Information Websites<br />
• <strong>Caribbean</strong> Hurricane Network: www.stormcarib.com (latest local updates from correspondents<br />
on the islands)<br />
• Ralph’s Stormtrack: http://ralphstropicalweather.homestead.com/StormTrack.html<br />
• US National Hurricane Center:<br />
www.nhc.noaa.gov, www.nhc.noaa.gov/marine/offshores/php (offshore reports),<br />
www.nhc.noaa.gov/marine/graphicast.php?basin=at#contents and<br />
www.nhc.noaa.gov/pdf/tracking_chart_atlantic.pdf (print out for offline reference)<br />
• Weather Underground: www.wunderground.com/hurricane<br />
Special Treats!<br />
• Free GRIB service: www.grib.us/Home.aspx<br />
• Surf forecasts (great for those “iffy” anchorages): http://magicseaweed.com<br />
— see the animated swell height and swell period charts.<br />
• Weather conversions: http://weather.org/conversion.htm<br />
• More <strong>Caribbean</strong> weather sources: www.tropicalwx.com<br />
Happy weather windows!
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