Weather&Wind websites/apps discussion thread

[Pippen]

Hey Guys,

Thought I would start a thread about this topic as it keeps coming up in some of the 'reports' threads and likely deserves it's own thread.

• Environment Canada
• WindyTy
• Big Wave Dave
• Fish Weather
• Buoy Weather
• etc etc etc

Have at 'er to discuss/share tips/recommendations etc.

 

[RageWelding]

I'd like to also add that I have found windy ty to be off big time for local vancouver fishing.

Environment Canada can be out to lunch sometimes as well.

I mostly rely on bigwave Dave and halibut bank for wind and wave height.

 

[fishnwhenIcan]

I use Big Wave Dave for forecasts and Fish Weather for current conditions. I find Environment Canada errs on the high side for their wjnd predictions and Fish Weather and WindyTy are usually low on their forecasts. None are perfect or for that matter really good at forecasting but we are dealing with marine weather and it's likely pretty difficult.

 

[Pippen]

I'd like to also add that I have found windy ty to be off big time for local vancouver fishing.

Environment Canada can be out to lunch sometimes as well.

I mostly rely on bigwave Dave and halibut bank for wind and wave height.

Ya....you have to search a bit for their 'real time' weather. You'll see Weather Stations on the right side of the screen but they only have a couple in the lower Strait which you'll see look like little mouse cursors. Their real time data is bang on.

Sent a message on their Facebook page to ask about why such a select few, only ones are Sandheads and Entrance from what I can see.

I have really liked their forecasting as it was completely on the mark in Tofino last month when Env Can was WAY off.

 

[SpringVelocity]

I use three things for south island area Sooke. First of all Enviro Canada is useless for JDF straight. Mostly always wrong.

I use the pressure gradient on big wave dave only ( if you monitor it and the swing is huge it will start to blow. Larger the swing bigger the winds), WindyTY, and the Washington state marine forecast. I plan my day using the Murray's table to what the current is doing if its facing wind direction. Most times you can fish a lot of strong currents if the wind and current is in the same direction. Also half moon phases where current is soft generally water will be Ok despite the wind. Full moon or new moon periods with opposing wind look out.

 

[fishin solo]

I use wind alert app. it has all the weather buoys with live winds and forecasts .... but like all the other weather apps env cda they all are wrong sometimes

 

[Eastmon]

Good idea starting this thread mate..

I wouldnt say im a fair weather fisherman, but i get pretty irate getting bumped around constantly, especially when the fishing is slow, I also have a young child who loves coming out with me (5 years old) and until he is fairly proficient with his swimming, i refuse to take him out if the wind is forecast above 15kts.

I use 3 sources and take an average, they are Enviro, Fishweather and Predictwind.

The first 2 are great for current conditions, though their forecasts are dubious. Predictwind seems to want you to register for the website, but you can download the app on your phone with no sign up needed. Many times over the last year, Ive looked at enviro and Fishweather and have seen a certain forecast, then looked at Predictwind and its been totally different. Only to find out nearly every time Predictwind has been about spot on each time.

WindyTY, in my experience, for the areas I fish locally is so far off the mark I dont even bother, hence I was asking about whether there is a paid subscription I didnt see. The visuals are great and wind direction is correct, but the wind speed is out to lunch...

Id love (and pay) for live stream video of water conditions at the local haunts here.

 

[Pippen]

@Eastmon The thing you have to remember with TY is that you're looking at a forecast when you tap on a spot. The pain is even when you look at the 'day of' it will be off quite often with today being a good example. The live data for Sandheads was certainly bang on with the wind throughout the day today looking at the graph.

As many have said...none will be perfect and as mentioned EC always seems to forecast with an err of caution as I have seen many times.

I am going to look at a number of them this weekend when I can during the derby and see what seems best.

A few years ago I tried BWD and found it generally 'off' for our Vancouver waters while guys in Vic seemed to get an accurate forecast. It was one of the first I remember guys talking about on here a number of years back.

 

[Clint r]

I have the "Shralp tide" app on my phone. Not sure how accurate it is but the info is always there. I also have the "AWS" weather station app and an app called "clear fishing" that shows best fishing days.

 

[Eastmon]

Fair call, like to see how the rest of the boys judge the weather. I like hearing stories of mouth crossings, especially with details of the wind, boat size etc.

I'm guessing you guys have seen some of the bar crossings from the Columbia River. Amazing stuff.

 

[fishnwhenIcan]

For Vancouver I also look at current conditions closely especially Halibut Bank and Vancouver Airport. I'm coming out the North Arm so if I see strong winds anything in the higher teens approaching 20 knot NW or WNW and an ebb tide especially a low low then I know that river mouth is going to be a ***** and I'll wait that one out. I'd rather wait for the swing. Once I get out past that then I am usually able to find some cover.

 

[Kildonan]

I stopped looking at environment Canada, it's way off the mark. I find big wave Dave to be the best for Victoria waterfront. Sometimes Dave burns me, but not often.

 

[Fish Camp]

I use Wundermap or wunderground weather ,for the strait,i will start using the matrix graph daily as the ho's hit the shores.thanks for the info on new sites to try.

 

[SpringVelocity]

For windyty you need to change the resolution. It defaults the European setting. For north america set to nam5km which is what bwd and most wind models use. Set it also to wind gust predictions. If you use European mode it wont be accurate.

 

[vanisland]

Wind Alert ftw! Best thing to see real time wind conditions and sea conditions if it's a bouy. Also does forecasts.

 

[Pippen]

Have to see what happens tomorrow as Env Can's forecast is NOT good for wind.....but WindyTy and other's make it look to be a nice day with very light winds.

 

[Pippen]

For you guys that are using Predict Wind....question for you as I am accessing it from my computer and checking it out.

Why the split screens? Trying to figure out the reasoning....and can't seem to find much of a tutorial on their website.

Also for any 'Meteorologically' inclined individuals......the drop down in the top left of the map. What do the 4 abbreviations mean?

• PWG
• PWC
• GFS
• CMC

I like the site at first glance....just trying to figure out a bit more.

 

[SpringVelocity]

https://www.ncdc.noaa.gov/data-access/model-data/model-datasets/global-forcast-system-gfs

 

[Eastmon]

For you guys that are using Predict Wind....question for you as I am accessing it from my computer and checking it out.

Why the split screens? Trying to figure out the reasoning....and can't seem to find much of a tutorial on their website.

Also for any 'Meteorologically' inclined individuals......the drop down in the top left of the map. What do the 4 abbreviations mean?

• PWG
• PWC
• GFS
• CMC

I like the site at first glance....just trying to figure out a bit more.

No idea mate, I only use it on my phone and don't look at any of those.

 

[ExFlyGuy]

I use a combination of these three, the weather network marine forecast (I like the fact they use the Beaufort scale and you can select all the bouys in the straight and on the coast and get wind and wave height), windyty and big wave Dave. But there are days when all three have different forcasts.