Weather web sites [Charles]

[Archive]

Charles wrote:

Which are the best websites for (hourly) forecasts ?

Thanks

[Archive]

Peter Lytton replied:

www.windguru.cz seems to be the preferred weather site in our household, and not just for sailing.

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George Oxley replied:

try www.xcweather.co.uk or www.metcheck.com
the first one gives live windspeeds & forecasts based on data from airports and RAF bases.second one is more of a general weather forecast, but with 3hr intervals

[Archive]

AndrewHannah replied:

At Thorpe Bay, we refer to the Isle of Sheppey SC webcam and weather station. It can be found through the association "clubs" link to TBYC, then IOSSC. Take a look, its free.
Besides the usual forecasts, IOS has a live wind speed indicator. Sheppey is on north Kent coast, whereas we are at Southend in Essex. Nevertheless, the webcam shows a view towards Southend pier and gives us some idea of the sea state, especially in northerlies.

Andrew Hannah, TBYC.

[Archive]

Joan Willis replied:

Interestingly, our sailing club at Seasalter has IOS webcam linked into our site too, it does give a good indication of local weather especially "Rudder crunching northerlies" so has many dart 15/18 deskbound addicts scanning it planning flexitime off!

[Andrew Hannah]

Old thread: last post in 2005.

Does anybody still use the website for Isle of Sheppey SC weather station? I notice wind speed and wind direction are no longer shown.

[Bob Carter]

Hi Andrew,
Corr, beats me. Have you just reread the last 4 years of comments or did you remember this item? Was there nothing on the tele?
Cheers
Bob

[Martin Searle]

Old thread: last post in 2005.

Does anybody still use the website for Isle of Sheppey SC weather station? I notice wind speed and wind direction are no longer shown.

Andrew,

This is the link I use on the Seasalter SC website:

http://www.iossc.org.uk/weather/index.php?n=4

Has both pictures and windspeed\direction Currently 23mph and from the NNE,so its dropped off a bit from earlier on.

Martin S.

[Steve Willis]

The page Martin mentions gives the graph and web cams (now 3 views instead of 2)

If you want more wind info use the 'Live Wind' tab (across the top)

this goes to

http://www.iossc.org.uk/weather/index.php?n=6

For more frequent wind info than the MEY office inshore waters I use the BBC coastal waters pages

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather/coast/coas ... st.shtml?8 - pick the area you want.

Steve

[Andrew Hannah]

Hi Steve and Martin,

I'm still confused. I cannot find the five day forecast for wind, that we used to have. The graphs show barometric pressure and wind speed for the previous 12 hours, which must be of interest to somebody. But where is the "future" forecast of the wind speed?

Bob: I typed Isle of Sheppey in the chat search box!

[Steve Willis]

Sorry Andrew I thought you wanted what is or is about to happen.

For the next 24-36 hours I use the BBC Coastal Waters one for 'Thames Estuary'. For five days the new BBC weather pages have changed the format but you can selct the location and expand from just temp and a pictogram of the weather to give wind humidity etc for every three hours for 2 days and then 3 days afterwards.

Joan uses http://www.weatheronline.co.uk/

Of ocurse if you get fed up looking at wind you could look at earthquakes
at
http://www.earthquakes.bgs.ac.uk/

We didn't feel the second one at Folkestone a few weeks ago but the one a couple of years ago we were sitting in bed having the morning cuppa when the bed started shaking and we nearly spilt the tea - we thought that it was some monster shell or amroury store going up at Shoeburyness until we heard the news. We filled in the BGS questionnaire which is how they judge the severity and spread to produce their shock maps.

Steve

[Duncan Ford]

Hi Steve, Andrew, Martin

The answer lies on our own club website Andrew! However, it can be used by all and in my experience the most accurate is the link to the Met Office site reached as follows:-.

Log on to www.tbyc.org and go to Useful Information.

Click Pressure Charts, then UK forecast on rhs.

Put in your postcode at the bottom of page and Go.

Then choose wind. (you can have temp and uv also)

It will give a 3hr sequence for 24 hrs then 12 hrly for 3 days. You can go through the sequence by choosing a time or run it automatically by pressing the play button.

I am a cynic on most weather sites, especially the Coastal and Inshore forecasts, but the above Met Office one has been fairly accurate over the past couple of seasons.

Also on our site, Weather Station will show what is happening live, as will Web Cam. If it is a northerly then the live info from IOSSYC on the Kent shore is better. Presumably our Seasalter friends will find tbyc more useful in a southerly.

Andrew - there is a whole new world on your doorstep!

Duncan tbyc 1973

[Andrew Hannah]

Thanks Duncan. I never knew our website was so useful!

But steady on about the new world on my doorstep. Are you implying the undertakers are outside?

[Duncan Ford]

Hi Andrew

No I am not implying that! In fact it seems far from the case as I understand that you were first Sprint 15 across the line yet again in yesterday's club race. Well done!

I would have liked to have been there, as I need the tuition, but suspect I have cracked a couple of ribs skiing More tuition needed there also!

Duncan tbyc 1973

[Jaycb]

We windsurfers follow the forecasts very closely and over the years I've come to trust two sources more than any other:

The Met office inshore waters forecast -
http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/mar ... ecast.html
This is a great resource and very reliable, though of course not much use if you're inland. Sadly it on;y updates twice a day so not good for up-to-the-minute checks.

XCweather -
http://www.xcweather.co.uk/
This one's absolutely awesome. Almost every windsurfer I know uses this. It's actually designed for pilots first & foremost but the data they use comes from aerodromes and observatories all over the country plus weather bouys at sea. The great thing is that most of these individual measurement points update every half-hour, so it's not only a long-term forecast site but an almost real-time wind status map of the entire UK. Fantastic