Radio Weather Forecasts
By Dave and Jaja

October 31, 2002

Advantages

Satellites and computers beware: There is still a wealth of weather information floating around out there (for free) on the multitude of radio band frequencies. All you need is a single side band receiver (with upper and lower bands) a good antenna, and a moderate dose of patience.

The SSB receiver we have been using on DRIVER is a 20 year old, Kenwood R-1000. This same chunk of metal and wires accompanied my dad and I on the MARTINI voyage in 1983, then it adorned the nav station on DIRECTION. Quite literally, this "ancient" radio has received weather forecasts from around the world.

The best source of weather radio frequencies can be found in the Weather Radio Handbook. Of course, nowadays you can go online before you put to sea and find all the radio frequencies on their website. In addition to specific weather broadcasts, there are dozens of cruisers "nets" that foretell the weather. The best way to find the frequencies of these stations is to ask any ham radio operator.

Incidentally, our Kenwood receiver does not transmit - it only receives. Many of these "nets" communicate directly with skippers who have made previous arrangements to get specific weather information. However, in the mainstream cruising regions there is almost always another one of these boats close enough to "share" a forecast. So even if you can't communicate directly, you can still listen in to find out what's coming.

A detailed weather forecast - be it from a radio source, or downloaded from a satellite - loses its value for every mile you sail away from a safe harbor. By the time a small cruising boat has hit the high seas there is not much it can do to outmaneuver a nasty weather system. This being said, there ARE a few scenarios when a good radio forecast at sea can save your skin: In tropical regions you might stand a chance of getting out of the way of a compact tropical depression that is headed your way. If a hurricane is coming, you might possibly steer away from the severe central winds if you know the storm's track. Another use for a good weather forecast at sea is near the end of an ocean voyage when you are approaching land; if a wicked storm is coming, and you know for a fact you will never make port in time, you may decided it is safer to ride the storm out at sea. (Approaching a coastline in extreme weather is seldom a good idea.)

Limitations

In the high latitude regions where Jaja and I have been cruising for these past several years the weather changes quickly. We are definitely fair-weather-sailor types. If a passage is to be under 5 days, for example, and we have the time to wait, we figure there's no excuse for getting caught in a gale. The problem is, not one radio forecast I have ever found gives a prediction for a length of time exceeding 36 hours; when you are in the high latitudes, going to sea on a 5 day passage, with only a 36 hour forecast, is asking for trouble.

In the Scandinavian countries, I skirted this problem by telephoning directly to the weather bureaus. When I explained that I was planning a long passage, and did not have sophisticated on board electronics, I always found an eager helper. Weather forecasters have computers at their finger tips which give them 4 to 5 day weather models. They use their forecasting experience to help interpolate the data. With this combination, we could get accurate long term information and we usually had great passages.

A few More Things

Most overseas radio forecasts are geared toward international shipping so they broadcast in both English as well as the local language. The United States and Canada are the only countries I know of that have continuous, VHF weather channels.

In 1998, Iceland had a weather bulletin on SSB in English and Icelandic, but in 2001 they did away with it and now they only have Navtex. For coastal weather information I called the VHF shore stations and got the 24 hour forecast in English.

If you call the VHF stations in Norway for weather info they will ask for your international "accounting code" and they will send you a bill. (An "accounting code" coincides with your registered VHF call sign in the States. They get your mailing address online from the FDC.) However, the Norwegians have many strong radio stations that bellow out weather info (in English and Norwegian) on SSB. The forecasts cover the waters from England to 80 north, between Iceland and the Norwegian Coast.

Greenland was similar to Iceland. You could call the VHF radio stations at any time and they were happy to give you weather info - at no charge.

Another long range weather option is to look in the local newspapers. The weather pages in Iceland and Norway showed isobar lines and labeled the positions of the highs and lows. I usually looked at these first before calling the weather people on the telephone. If a storm was tracking our way, or the isobar lines indicated unfavorable winds, I didn't bother phoning if it was obvious that going to sea was out of the question for a day or two. When I did decide it was time to call, being armed with a little knowledge of what was "out there" gave me the ability to A) ask specific question; B) not sound like a weather ignoramus, and C) give me a clue in case they had a thick accent.

Another way to get weather info at sea is to call a passing ship.

A radio my seem low tech in today's world, but coupled with the variety of alternatives, it has worked for us for many years.

Here are the radio stations we found the most useful.

United States.

NMN "Hi Seas" (covers the area between 7û north to 65ûnorth, from the US coast to 35 west.)

Great Britain

BBC radio 4 shipping forecast. All waters.

Norway

Rogeland Radio "Forecast waters" (covers the eastern half of the Norwegian Sea, to the Barents Sea, including the water around Svalbard. First in English, then in Norwegian.)

Rogeland Radio "Norwegian Sea and N. Atlantic" (covers Denmark Strait, the western half of the Norwegian Sea, the North Sea, Northern Scotland, the Shetlands, and the Faroes. With synopsis and outlook. First in English then in Norwegian.)