Select
a region on the left or click on the image map above
These pages show current
marine data from our own models and observational data worldwide. This
service is provided for the enjoyment of the marine/meteorological community
and is not intended for commercial purposes. Please read the FAQ (Frequently
Asked Questions) below and the Legal
Terms and Conditions before viewing any of the data.
Feedback
is always welcome!
Frequently
Asked Questions
How do I read
a wind barb?
The
wind barbs indicate both the wind speed in knots (nautical mile per
hour) and the wind direction (from which the wind is coming from). Each
flag on a wind barb indicates 50 knots, each long segment is 10 knots,
and each short segment is 5 knots. To get the wind speed, just add up
the flags and segments.
We
do not routinely archive the images that are produced on this site.
The source data (observational and model data) is archived, but will
there will be cost involved in accessing any part of Oceanweather's
database. Normally this is reserved for commercial applications.
How
is the wave analysis produced?
I
live X miles from Y beach, should I go surfing tomorrow?
The
short-answer is: sure why not? :) We can't respond to the numerous individual
requests we receive for such advice, past or present. However, we encourage
you to use the model and observational data presented here as a guide
to your local conditions. Remember: conditions at the beach vary widely
depending on lots of local factors that can't be shown here. The data
presented here is primarily for conditions offshore, you will have to
use your own local knowledge to relate the conditions to your favorite
spot. It takes a little practice, but you'll soon know when it is time
to hit the beach.
Where
do the ship observations come from?
Ships
that are part of the VOS (Voluntary Observing Ship) program report weather
in realtime and this information is forwarded to weather centers around
the globe. The NOAA VOS page http://www.vos.noaa.gov/
gives more information.
Why
can't I see all the navigation links on the left?
You'll
need to be at a minimum resolution of 768x1024 and have your web browser
full screen in order to see the full list (you'll also be able to see
more of the images). You can also click on the map image on this page
to view any region. Below is the list of available regions in case you
can't run at this resolution:
I'm tracking
a ship across the ocean and don't see them plotted today, what happened?
Not all ships that
report to VOS (Voluntary Observing Ship) program report every time our
plots are updated. It is common to see a ship on one map, then not on
the next hour's plot. Each marine observations page has a text table
(the link is on the upper right when viewing marine observations) that
shows the past 6 hours worth of observations. The table is sorted by
callsign and by time to make it easy to find a particular ship.
What are the
different color wind barbs on the marine observations page?
Observations are
color coded by type. Buoys are shown in red, ships are shown in blue
and CMAN (Coastal Manned Stations around the U.S.) are shown in purple.
What are the
gray contours on the marine observation images?
They are sea level
pressure in millibars (mb). The labels are "short hand" that
show just the last two digits: 998mb becomes "98", 999 mb
is "99" 1000mb is "00" and 1001 mb is "01"
and so on.
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