SAMPLE MARINE
WEATHER FORECASTS
Marine Weather
PZZ133-112215- NORTHERN INLAND WA-
TERS INCLUDING THE SAN JUAN ISLANDS-
833 AM PDT SUN OCT 11 2009 ...SMALL
The Work Horses and the Secret Sources!
CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM
One of the best sources of marine weather forecasts
PDT THIS AFTERNOON...
for a one to a few day’s sail on inland waters is likely
TODAY NE WIND 5 TO 15 KT RISING TO 15
to be a surprise to you. It is relatively new and
TO 25 KT IN THE MORNING... THEN BECOM-
hidden right under our noses (I mean mouse
ING 10 TO 20 KT LATE. WIND WAVES 1 TO
cursors) in the same place we check every
4 FT. TONIGHT NE WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND
day to see what clothes to wear to work.
WAVES 1 OR 2 FT.
MON NE WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES
By David Burch
1 OR 2 FT. MON NIGHT NE WIND 10 TO
15 KT...BECOMING SE 10 TO 20 KT AFTER
MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT.
Once underway on inland and Gust, and Air Pressure.” Unfortunately,
TUE SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2
near coastal waters, the NOAA marine we do not have a choice of “mariner’s
TO 4 FT.
weather radio on VHF is likely to be units.” We get pressure in inches of
WED SE WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES
the main source for inland waters. mercury and wind speed in knots if
2 TO 4 FT.
It gives observations every 3 hours we choose “English” units, or we get
THU SE WIND 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 3
and forecasts every 6 hours. The local meters per second and millibars if we
TO 5 FT.
Marine Weather Services Chart (MSC- choose “Metric” units. What we want
10) tells all about this fundamental as mariners (as opposed to pilots) is
PZZ135-112215- PUGET SOUND AND HOOD
service (www.starpath.com/navpubs). millibars and knots, but we don’t get
CANAL-
But for all inland and coastal marine them.
833 AM PDT SUN OCT 11 2009
weather planning, your best place In the sample (Figure 1) we see
TODAY NE WIND TO 10 KT. WIND WAVES 1
to start is at NOAA’s National Data that the past high pressure is now back
FT OR LESS. TONIGHT NE WIND 10 TO 15
Buoy Center website (www.ndbc.noaa. to normal (1017 mb is normal for the
KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT.
gov). They provide a comprehensive Pacific Northwest in both summer and
MON NE WIND 10 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 1
compilation of recent observations at winter) and the wind has died down.
OR 2 FT. MON NIGHT NE WIND 10 KT. WIND
several places along the inland and This plot does not tell us the future, but
WAVES 1 FT.
coastal waters. Google “WPOW1” to go it definitely looks like not much wind
TUE SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT...BECOMING
directly to the data from the West Point for the moment.
10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND
lighthouse. This site shows you present You will also find a link to the
WAVES 1 TO 3 FT.
conditions updated hourly, along with latest marine weather forecasts on the
WED SE WIND 10 TO 15 KT...RISING TO 15
historical records for the past day, or NDBC page for any of its stations.
TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT BUILD-
even longer. This will give you a 5-day snapshot
ING TO 2 TO 4 FT.
One of the best pictures of what of the wind and seas for rather broad
THU S WIND 15 TO 25 KT. WIND WAVES 2
has been taking place there is given in regions, of which the first 3 days are
TO 4 FT.
their “Combined plot of Wind Speed, likely to be fairly good. But these are
broad regions. Check MSC-10 to see
Figure 1
where the regions are defined using
the labels “PZZ133,” “PZZ135,” etc.
See Figure 2. Remember, weather can
change quickly in our region, so do not
rely on a Saturday forecast that you got
on Thursday. Check it again Saturday
morning.
You can also get these reports by
any standard cell phone. Call 888-701-
8992 and follow instructions. They can
also be requested by email. The NDBC
site explains both services, though they
do not tell you about the value of the
MSC charts.
Once you have the overview of
present conditions, and the longer
term outlook in the general region
48° No r t h , No v e m b e r 2009 Pa g e 31
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