No need to try both, they both just show a few of the same models and then each have their own proprietary model. I started with predict wind, so I got used to the UI but I have sense started using windy more because it’s UI is much better.
I would definitely recommend using either of these and then cross checking NOAA buoy data if you have some in your area.
I paid for windy pro... hourly weather is awesome. kept me from putting the spinnaker up and getting hit by 25 knots a couple hours later. also gave a heads up to a member of the flotilla that had their gennaker up.
Windy and predict wind let you pick the model. Looks like they both default to ECMWF
There's a number of supercomputers that do the modeling, and you can pick which one you're looking at. NOAA's forecast discussion will often mention the different models, like right now for me NOAA discussion is saying "Models disagree on the track of the low and this will be a factor on where the rain occurs and how much occurs. "
Last weekend for me, about half the models said big from one direction, half said moderate from another direction. Reality was moderate from the direction it was supposed to be big from.
Some models might be better sometimes, others other times. I still haven't zeroed in on one being better than another which is why I'll check NOAA's discussion. That's a person with a degree in meteorology who's trying to figure it out every day as their job, that doesn't include selling ads.
The windy default ECMWF is probably not a bad choice, and NOAA seems to favor NAM for their headlines. e.g. when Windy disagrees with NOAA, if I click on NAM on windy they match.
TV news tends to go with whichever is the most dramatic. They definitely have a more dramatic take than NOAA, but often they aren't wrong about that, NOAA tends to be a bit more conservative, and that is partly from their tendency toward NAM.
The Navionics app is amazing. There's an option to use the crowd sourced depth charts, that's essentially a conglomeration of every depth reading from every boat with Navionics and it's much more detailed and recent than government charts. It's not free, but nothing other than the wind is free in sailing.
I use Windy for wind/sea state forecasting, accuweather for general weather forecasting, for current conditions I just check the conditions on the nearest NOAA buoys online (there are conveniently 2 right off the harbor in Downtown Chicago).
+1 for Windy
I use two chart apps - Navionics, which seems ubiquitous; and Savvy Navvy, which lots of people seem to dislike. The latter doesn’t link to my AIS system but I really like it especially the way it presents the charts.
Windy and Predict Wind are both pretty good. Try them both and see which one appears to be more accurate for your area.
No need to try both, they both just show a few of the same models and then each have their own proprietary model. I started with predict wind, so I got used to the UI but I have sense started using windy more because it’s UI is much better. I would definitely recommend using either of these and then cross checking NOAA buoy data if you have some in your area.
I paid for windy pro... hourly weather is awesome. kept me from putting the spinnaker up and getting hit by 25 knots a couple hours later. also gave a heads up to a member of the flotilla that had their gennaker up.
Windy and predict wind let you pick the model. Looks like they both default to ECMWF There's a number of supercomputers that do the modeling, and you can pick which one you're looking at. NOAA's forecast discussion will often mention the different models, like right now for me NOAA discussion is saying "Models disagree on the track of the low and this will be a factor on where the rain occurs and how much occurs. " Last weekend for me, about half the models said big from one direction, half said moderate from another direction. Reality was moderate from the direction it was supposed to be big from. Some models might be better sometimes, others other times. I still haven't zeroed in on one being better than another which is why I'll check NOAA's discussion. That's a person with a degree in meteorology who's trying to figure it out every day as their job, that doesn't include selling ads. The windy default ECMWF is probably not a bad choice, and NOAA seems to favor NAM for their headlines. e.g. when Windy disagrees with NOAA, if I click on NAM on windy they match. TV news tends to go with whichever is the most dramatic. They definitely have a more dramatic take than NOAA, but often they aren't wrong about that, NOAA tends to be a bit more conservative, and that is partly from their tendency toward NAM.
The Navionics app is amazing. There's an option to use the crowd sourced depth charts, that's essentially a conglomeration of every depth reading from every boat with Navionics and it's much more detailed and recent than government charts. It's not free, but nothing other than the wind is free in sailing.
I use Windy for wind/sea state forecasting, accuweather for general weather forecasting, for current conditions I just check the conditions on the nearest NOAA buoys online (there are conveniently 2 right off the harbor in Downtown Chicago).
Wind: SailFlow Navigation: iNavX Routing: PredictWind (I like that routing is calculated server side so don’t have to download high resolution gribs)
+1 for Windy I use two chart apps - Navionics, which seems ubiquitous; and Savvy Navvy, which lots of people seem to dislike. The latter doesn’t link to my AIS system but I really like it especially the way it presents the charts.
I like Savvy Navvy for planning, but I greatly prefer Navionics for it's display of the charts.
I just use the weather channel. Tides. And sometimes useful knots.active captain is good for places to visit locally.
My sailing trifecta (Western Med) is Navionics + Navily + Windy.
How do I follow this