Windy.com confusion

[alansmith]

Okay, here it is. My boat is on a trailer down in San Carlos, Mexico....Sonora part of Mexico that is. So, I get to sweat out the hurricane season. I bought the boat in April 2018. This is so typical for me...my luck...as the Irish would say, "if i didn't have bad luck...i wouldn't have any luck at all."

So, I watch Windy.com a lot. This latest monster is way south of me. When i open up the Windy.com program there is an option that you can open to see what the wind speed is in the cyclones...or any part of the map you want to position the pointer. When i do that ...and move the cursor all around the cyclone i never get wind speeds even closely approaching what the weather services say are being generated. Waz up with that?

[StuM]

Define "weather services" :-)


If you mean MSM weather reporting - if it bleeds, it leads. They will quote maximum forecast gusts with glee.


Models generally reported either expected sustained wind speeds or "average speeds" which are a lot lower.



That said, windy.com uses pure model forecasts whereas real meteorologists will apply a lot of non-modeled knowledge to refine the forecasts and in many situations will be more accurate.

[senormechanico]

It's a long way South from San Carlos Sonora.

[Paul Elliott]

Windy.com can display either average winds, or gusts. Click "More Layers" on the right edge of the screen and you will see many more options, including gusts.

[SeanPatrick]

This global wind map is showing wind at the surface at about 40 mph, as opposed to the 115 mph being reported by The Weather Channel right now.

[Jim Cate]

I'm not sure which model(s) Windy uses, but if you read t he disclaimer that sometimes accompanies GSF gribs they specifically say that the model does not deal with cyclones well... or really, at all. So, unless the display has added info beyond t he model output, such errors are not surprising.

Jim

[Snowpetrel]

Originally Posted by Jim Cate

I'm not sure which model(s) Windy uses, but if you read t he disclaimer that sometimes accompanies GSF gribs they specifically say that the model does not deal with cyclones well... or really, at all. So, unless the display has added info beyond t he model output, such errors are not surprising.

Jim

Windy is a very handy one as it shows both GfS and the ECMWF models, and you can easily switch between them and compare.

A few traps are to make sure the altitude slider isn't set above sea level, and its in knots not Km/h or vice versa, as well as the above mentioned gusts feild.

[alansmith]

what web based service similar to Windy.com do you fellas like to watch for quick info? I just went on Windy.com at 11:28 pm and it doesn't even show any cyclonic action at all...like poof....Willa dissipated into outerspace.

Thanks guys...man, i gotta alot of learning to do.

[MartinR]

Willa made landfall and died. You can still see the remnants on the GFS model.

[conachair]

Originally Posted by Snowpetrel

Windy is a very handy one as it shows both GfS and the ECMWF models, and you can easily switch between them and compare.

New 'wind' button not long added bottom left shows wind from all available models at the same time. Windy just gets better and better at displaying the available models.

wxcharts seems like a newcomer well worth checking out as well, lots of options. >
WXCHARTS

[gamayun]

I pulled up Windy when Michael was blowing over my mother's house in N FL. It's an amazing app that is getting better all the time. It wasn't that long ago when I used to stare at it dreamily similar to watching embers in a fireplace, but I couldn't really zoom in or do much with it. Now it's so cool. If only it would get accurate enough to show the microclimates in San Francisco Bay... patience, little Grasshopper

[Franziska]

Possibly switch gusts on too in windy. That shows much more.

[alansmith]

thanks guys and gals, i hadn't even seen the layers button on the right side. Anyone watching the monster that just creamed the Marianas...next on the platter is Luzon. Biggest cyclone of 2018...millibars already in the mid 27's...those poor souls..

[jmh2002]

And, don't forget that Windy has it's own forum too, for more detailed discussions, information, help, and troubleshooting:

https://community.windy.com/