New (well to me) wind site

[ITH]

Recent weather in the Cyclades has made us unusually interested in wind forecasts. We were told about https://www.windyty.com and have been following it for some time. It seems remarkably accurate in its wind speed/gusts forecasts, and I wondered whether our resident expert Frank Singleton had any views on the site?

 

[RichardS]

Recent weather in the Cyclades has made us unusually interested in wind forecasts. We were told about https://www.windyty.com and have been following it for some time. It seems remarkably accurate in its wind speed/gusts forecasts, and I wondered whether our resident expert Frank Singleton had any views on the site?

Already discussed somewhere else recently. Presumably based on same gribs that you download with zyGrib but does look nice.

Richard

 

[ITH]

Thanks Richard, looking at the search facility, it seems I have rediscovered the wheel! However it is the accuracy of the wind forecasts that impressed me. Obviously all sites use basic NOAA data, but this one says that the predictions are based on a 13km grid - which I think compares well with the standard 25km grid used elsewhere. But I'm a bear of small brain when it comes to this stuff, which is why it would be good to hear from Frank Singleton.

 

[cmogs]

Thanks Richard, looking at the search facility, it seems I have rediscovered the wheel! However it is the accuracy of the wind forecasts that impressed me. Obviously all sites use basic NOAA data, but this one says that the predictions are based on a 13km grid - which I think compares well with the standard 25km grid used elsewhere. But I'm a bear of small brain when it comes to this stuff, which is why it would be good to hear from Frank Singleton.

After searching for and using various sites, we used this site after forum advice and found it accurate for the following days whilst sailing down the Peloponnese than across to Cyclades and back and as you say its quite pretty !

 

[jimbaerselman]

I've used it in Florida, S France, Greece and the Channel. It's surprisingly good at showing thermal afternoon winds blowing into the gulfs in the S Peloponnese, so there's obviously some local terrain input.

It's at it's most "easy to use" state when the pop-up or window is expanded enough to show the date line along the bottom, and a menu button appears top right.

Only one thing missing - swell forecasts! But then the site owner is a kite-surfer and ski-ing man, so swell not so high on his priorities.

 

[franksingleton]

Just emerged from a browsing wilderness.

This is one of many presentations of GRIB information, see http://weather.mailasail.com/Franks-Weather/Grib-And-Objective-Forecasts-Reviewed. It uses GFS information and gives no more information than, say, my favourite zyGrib. All the apparently fine scale data are interpolations in space and time. In fact, it may give less information. GFS data are available down to 0.25 degree resolution and at 3-hourly intervals.. They may have problems in making all that information instantaneously available on-line.

I find it a little easier to use than Natural Earth. The first such service (that I was aware of) is an App, Meteo Earth from Meteo Group. They use EMWF data. My contacts tell me that this is debased from the ECMWF model which currently computes ( I think) on a slightly larger grid spacing, 17 km, than the GFS 13 km.

To me, the chief merit of such presentations is the overview of the all too obvious complexities of our atmosphere. A great teaching tool.

When it comes to variations in wind around islands, remember that the GFS gives data at 0.25 degree spacing and can only show detail of scale around 1 degree. You should get better definition of such effects from the limited area (meso-scale) models that I list. These use shorter grid lengths, down to around 5 km, is my latest information,

 

[ITH]

Many thanks for the info Frank; succinct as usual. I should have checked with your web site before asking your opinion of Windty.