GRIB and other Objective Forecasts

Services mainly on repayment.

GribFiles.com (G)

The GribFiles.com service offers output from Three global forecast models and four meso-scale ones. Most of the data can be freely obtained in other ways but some will find this a convenient one stop shop. They do not provide a viewer bu see my GRIB viewers page.

Météo Consult (G)

The Météo Consult service is much wider than GRIB based products which are confined to wind forecasts only. When I last looked at it, it seemed expensive but that might have changed.

MovingWeather (G)

The Movingweather starting point is a very large download using Broadband or a CD supplied by the firm. Setting up is as straightforward as any good system through a Windows driven Wizard. There are some very clear help pages for download as pdf or Word documents.
The data are GFS but with a zoom facility. This does not give any more information than any other GFS service.

Navimail (G)

David Hide has provided notes for Navimail - the then (2001) new Météo France Navimail system which provides forecasts up to 5 days ahead for any part of the world. The system is Windows based and can be used through any telecom standard that supports email (ie INMARSAT - A, B, C or Mini-M, GSM, telephone etc.).
A credit account with Météo France is needed. Other services offering many options will be set up along broadly similar lines.
I have retained his notes because Météo France were among the first in the field and they give some idea about how other systems work in practice.

PredictWind (G B)

PredictWind is one of the more advance meso-scale services; they say that they run their own model starting from analysed data output by both the GFS and the Canadian Met Centre (CMC) models. From thes they provide regional forecasts on an 8 km grid for 5 days ahead and limited area 1 km models for one day. You can toggle between the two forecasts to get two "opinions."
There are various options for viewing the results, all commendably easy to use. As with some of the other presentations, I found the colourings a little distracting, but that is a minor criticism.
Using ExpeditionLT to download a GRIB file give a usefully flexible service. Via a browser, there is less flexibility but the areas for which the regional model is available are rather more user friendly than some of the free browser services.

Smartmet

SmartMe downloads weather reports and forecasts including GFS GRIB files of pressure, wind, cloud, and air and surface temperature - 0.5 degree resolution, 3 hour time steps. WW3 standard resolution 5 day oceanographic forecasts of waves - 1 x 1.25 degree resolution, 3 hour time steps. Other data currently available include SYNOP current weather reports from weather buoys, ships, oil rigs and land based weather stations and Meteosat satellite images.

Theyr.com (G)

Like several GRIB meso-scale services, Theyr.com''' is provided on a commercial basis. Forecasts can be obtained using FTP, web browser or email. Area selection can be made on a chart using their easy to use GribView viewer. Forecasts at 0.1 degree are available over the Atlantic and Europe. For a limited area, basically the English Channel there is also a model run at a 0.02 degree spacing (~ 2 km or 1.4 NM).
There is a free service of global GRIB data twice a day at 1/2 degree (~30 NM) resolution to 6 days ahead using the US GFS model.
An important plus to a sailor is that you can subscribe for periods of a month at a time.

Theyr.tv (G)

This is where it becomes complicated and confusing in the names used. Theyr.tv is run by the developers of the original Theyr.net. In late 2006 Theyr.tv split from the then owners. The latter formed a new Theyr.net and ProGRIB.com. These are now known as Theyr.com.
I understand that Theyr.tv is still using the old ETA meso-scale model as it was, and as many will remember it, when it was a free and still developing service.

Windguru (B)

Windguru Uses the GFS to interpolate to specific locations as a free service. It also uses the WRF meso-scale model to do the same as a charged service. In both cases, any increase in precision is illusory. Running on a 40 km grid the free service can only really represent information on a 200 km resolution while the meso-scale model using a 9 km grid can only refer to 45 km size areas.

Free sources

Other pages describe basic but very useful Saildocs and MailASail email and the UGrib FTP services. An alternative to UGrib is the excellent ZyFrib.
In addition there are various web pages although with an advertising overhead for downloading when not on broadband..

AEMET (HIRLAM) (B)

Detailed 3-day forecasts of Wind, Wind-wave and Swell. From the Spanish Met Service for Cantabrico, Cadiz, Balearics, Western Mediterranean and the Canary Isles. There is also a forecast for the Atlantic south of 55 deg N. The coastal forecasts seem to have more detail than most meso-scale models although, as ever, I have to doubt their accuracy. Clumsy to use but potentially very useful.

Croatian Met (Aladdin) (B)

Detailed 3-day forecasts of Wind, Gusts, cloud and rainl. From the Croatian Met Service for the Adriatic. These are meso-scale forecasts using the French Aladdin model out to three days.

DMS (HIRLAM) (B)

Meso-scale forecasts for the Nord See and ost See provided by the Danish Met Service. Meso-scale data but only shown at a coarse resolution. Wind and wave height.

ICLAMS (B)

ICLAMS is an Athens University service that generates a regional model and two meso-scale models. It looks mor up to date than Poseidon but still uses the GFS as a starting point.

Meteo LAMMA (B)

[[www.lamma.rete.toscana.it/meteo/modelli/vento-e-mare| Winds and waves from WRF/NMM and WW3, meso-scle models. Mediterranean centred on Italy. Some doubt as to value of WW3 in the Med. Forecasts given for 5 days! Not usuall sensible for a meso-scle model.

Norwegian Met Service (YR.NO) (G)

GRIB files from HIRLAM covering waters around Norway and Central Europe. Some files are quite large.

Passageweather (B)

PassageWeather provides GFS wind vectors charts worldwide out to 15 days (!!) with good area selection. There are also meso-scale forecasts using NAM, SWS and the USN COAMPS output depending on the area.----

Poseidon (B)

Poseidon gives meso-scale forecasts over Greek waters. I find that the chartlets need enlarging.

Windfinder (B)

Windfinder is used by many but I find it a little more clumsy to use than PassageWeather and with less clear graphics. It provides GFS and WRF meso-scale information.----

Wetteronline (B)

www.wetteronline.com give winds over small areas for many areas worldwide. Presumably this is all GFS information. The small chartlets are clear enough but a little tedious to page through. There is a heavy advertising overhead.

Weatheronline (B)

Weatheronline provides UK Unified Model output from its Global and its North Atlantic (NAE) meso-scale versions.

XCWeather (B)

XCWeather gives wind GFS forecasts interpolated to specific observing locations over much of western Europe and the USA as well as the same information in the more usual chart form. Most useful is the availability of the most comprehensive actuals.

Other Service Providers

There have been other companies offering GRIB based services for a number of years. Some of these services are listed here. The Transas Weather Wizard is really intended for large vessels/companies and not appropriate to the leisure market.

iPhone, IPads, ITouch, Blackberry, Kindle

Once you have paid for the apps, these can be used to download GRIB files, usually the GFS. Some give other options. See my page on GRIB apps. Like other systems, these have their pros and cons. Immediate access without having to open up a computer is a major plus whetehr on land or on the boat - as long as Internet access is available. Storing a forecats for future viewing may not be as easy. Still being developed.

Chart plotters

Services for the leisure community are provided by makers of chart plotting equipment. Obviously, the cost initially is built into the equipment and associated software price. Charging practices vary. In some cases, having bought the package, you get free downloads of GRIB (GFS) data - as many as you want, whenever you want. Other companies may charge for the data. Examples are -

MaxSea, SeaPro and NobelTEC are three in this category.

Tidal current data can be overlaid with the weather information, making it a useful tool, for motor boats especially, where wind over tide can be more critical for comfort than for a yacht. From a demonstration, I got the impression that MaxSea was, perhaps, a little too complex or sophisticated for some to use but, no doubt, familiarity with the system could well change that view. The displays are "static" but can be paged down quickly to give a movie effect.

I have only seen MaxSea and cannot comment on any costs, ease of use, flexibility etc of other systems such as SeaPro or NobelTec. However, as all use GRIB files from the same basic sources, there is no reason why these should be any better or worse than the services mentioned on this page. Of course, they are only available if you have bought the relevant hardware and software. These are not cheap.