On Friday, I was washing the salt off Amazing Grace when I met Captain Alan. He, too, was washing off his classic Down East boat, and the conversation turned to weather apps.
I mentioned that I had recently reworked my next trip due to the wind forecast six days out. Alan asked me:
“What app do you use that can forecast wind six days our?”
I’m not sure he was really curious, or just making sport of me for believing anyone can forecast wind speed six days out, but I realized that my trusted weather apps have changed since 2019, when I last wrote about them and it was time for an update!
Although I’m still using several of the same apps I used six years ago, my #1 go-to app for long-range forecasts has changed.
#1 Long Range Forecast App – Windfinder Plus
I started using Windfinder Plus in 2023 because it purported to predict wind and waves ten days out.
My technique for long-range forecasting is essentially constant triangulation. I look at multiple forecasts for the date I’m concerned with – several times a day, to see if there is a consensus or not.
The other long-range weather app I triangulate with is NOAA’s Weather Radar.
The paid version is feature-rich, but I really like the ability to chart out the wind forecast for the next ten days…
This is a great tool for tweaking a voyage. In the chart above, I can see that I really don’t want to be at sea from noon on Thursday until Saturday morning.
The third app I use is the Marine Weather app from NOAA.
This is also my go-to app for near term forecasts, but I find the Discussion page to be highly useful predicting 7-10 days out.
They too see a potential for Small Craft Warnings at some point later on Thursday.
The big question is, “How accurate is a 6-10 day forecast?”
It’s better than nothing! Seriously, I’ve been using these long-range forecasts for a while and they generally do accurately predict the arrival of a front, but often the timing is off by 6-24 hours. If you check it every day, you can get feel for whether its sliding out or pulling in. All-in-all, we’ll worth the effort.
Short Term Forecast Apps
My #1 is still the NOAA Marine Weather App.
It’s been around forever and since commercial mariners and fishermen depend on it, it’s not just some computer generated blah, blah, blah, there are actual meteorologists working behind the scenes.
Of course, I still check them all too. I like using the Predict Wind app to see how the wind strength and direction might change at a specific point offshore.
Realtime Weather Apps
If the weather is dicey on the day of departure and I have options like leaving early, leaving late, or taking an alternative route, I like to know what’s happening now!
Wind Right Now!
My #1 source is the NOAA Buoycast data.
It’s excellent, but be advised that it’s not real time. I pulled this data at 6:05 AM, but it was actually recorded at 5:00 AM.
Windfinder Plus also gives me reports from actual weather observatories for the last 24 hours. For wind, air, and wave height.
Rain Right Now!
I find AccuWeather’s Minutecast snapshot to be very good.
But if rain is in the area, I like to triangulate with radar. My favorite weather radar is actually free (even though I pay for NOAA radar).
It’s radar on the NECN Weather app in Boston.
It goes out for six hours and allows me to apply different layers for clouds or rain.
Fog Right Now!
I am confident in my ability to “fly by instruments” in fog, but Mrs. Horne tends to get nervous.
Meteorologists tell us “No one can predict fog,” but many try. If I wake up on a day of departure and see fog, I turn on the NECN and Channel 25 local weather to see what they say. They often mention fog, show a map of New England with current visibility, and might mention in broad terms when it will burn off.
The NOAA Radar and Marine Weather apps might also.
Last year, after way too much foggy boating in Maine, I added a page to this website with direct links to all the good New England Webcams I know of.
One of the few routes I will not travel in zero visibility is Woods Hole. There are too many metal buoys that look like ships on radar and too many rocks lurking everywhere.
If my plans require a Woods Hole passage, I’ll immediately start monitoring the webcam at the Ferry Dock.
Recently, I’ve been rerouting to Quicks Hole in fog, but I did come with another idea. If I ever get to Woods Hole in zero visibility, I plan to use my DPS to stay inside a 90’ circle off Hadley’s, wait for a High Speed Ferry to pass, and follow them through the Hole!
What about you?
Everything I know about weather forecasting I learned from fellow mariners. If you’ve got a system you like, please share it in the comments below!
I’m a fan of PredictWind. I like being able to plot in a route, indicate my departure time, and have it tell me (in configurable increments) and have it tell me an ideal departure time. It’s less a comment on New England per-se, but I found it to be super at 2-3 day out forecasting on our trip from FL to MA on the ICW.
I just made the trip up from Naples to Onset –
Outcast App https://apps.apple.com/us/app/outcast-marine-weather/id739808997
was Invaluable along with Windy
I just bought it ($1.99), but after a quick glance, it looks dead wrong.
1. It’s reporting 18 MPH winds – actual is 13.
2. It’s forecasting rain for tomorrow – no one else is! We’ll see…
I’ve really learned quite a bit from your blog and enjoy following along with your Instagram stories! My parents used to Summer on their boat at the dock near the Harborview/Lighthouse in Edgartown, so I particularly have enjoyed your posts from there. Anyway, let me get to my question about weather apps and calling audibles on float plans. We’re scheduled to cruise to Newport this week from our home port in Bridgeport, CT for Jazz Festival. I booked through Dockwa at the Newport Yacht Center, Friday-Monday. Looking at my collection of weather apps (Windy, Predictwind, Windhub, etc), it looks like Friday is shaping up to be rather unpleasant. So I’m trying to learn from your approach and I’m asking if the marina can accommodate us coming Thursday to get ahead of it. Am I reading the apps right? And would you adjust plans 4 days out based on them? If I’ve understood your approach to cruising, I would think so.
Thanks for any counsel! (I see you are in Mystic now, we stayed at the same marina you are at currently just 3 weeks ago. Such a special spot)
Hi David,
Looks like you’re planning a 100+ mile run. I would not do that into a 15 knot NE wind – what’s your boat?
If I could get a slip and if I had the time, I would go up on Thursday. If not, I look for a marina south of Newport for Thursday and leave myself a 20-30 mile run on Friday morning.
Good Luck,
Dave
Thanks, Newport Yacht Center was able to accommodate a Thursday arrival. Seemed like a good call to error on that side and enjoy more restaurants in a city with lots of choices.
I’m on a Saxdor 400 (40 feet) that cruises between 30-40 knots per hour and handles chop pretty well but really requires me to slow down in big swells due to shape of hull/bow.
Thanks for your suggestions!
I think you made the right call!
Email me your contact info. I’m interested in learning more about your boat!
Thank you for this helpful information – I need to try a few of these app/techniques out. I especially like the idea of the Woods Hole cam to check for fog. I been through Woods Hole a few times in zero vis.
We just moved our boat to Mattapoisett from Plymouth and we are enjoying our summer learning Buzzards Bay and the Islands. Our favorite beach is in Quicks Hole. My go to weather program is a little JV 😉 I use NOAA marine weather web pages (old school), BuoyWeather (app), weather app, live buoy data for the regions I’ll be traveling. I regularly fish south of MV and use Rutgers sea surface temperature charts to get a feel how water temps are shifting. Thanks again for the helpful information.