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Modern Marine Weather,
3rd ed.

by

David Burch

ebook copies are available in various formats

Errata

 


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In the textbook, we mention several places that there is follow up information on this support page.
Below are the links to those specific references, followed by more general supplementary materials.

Book Page Reference
Subject
Further Information
24, 191 [email protected] We offered this free email service for some years when it was not available elsewhere, but now an expanded version is included in the nav app qtVlm (free for Mac and PC) as well as in the popular Expedition software. Hence we have discontinued this service and recommend using one of these options. Alternatively, you can view all reports directly from the NDBC, but this does not plot them on your chart as our service did and as the two cited apps do as well.
09, Section 1.6

Marine Weather Services Charts (MSC)

 

 

How to make your own MSC

Marine Weather Information Guide.  New from VOS program, it appears to be a good first step toward a print source of info that was on the Marine Weather Services Charts.

You can also supplement the forecast zone identifications with their internal document MARINE AND COASTAL AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY, which has better pictures of the zones than they do online. Nevertheless, we are proud of our own rendition of these zones and how to use them that appears in the text.

12, Table 1.6-3 An annotated list of resources, with
regional compilations to illustrate how they work together
Example of custom weather resources: Pacific, Puget Sound, Inside Passage, Tropical Atlantic. Some of these may be outdated. See also Live Weather section of the Starpath Weather Trainer.
27, Figure 2.4-1 caption and related equation for geo and surface wind speeds: what are the latitude limits of the equation? Table values start at 15º and that is a fair lower limit on lat for the equation as well as the table.
29, Figure 2.4-5 Clarification: the equation derived for radius based on chord and offset define the "chord" C in the equation as one half of the full chord of the circle. The more customary definition of chord would be in our terms = 2C.
45, Figure 3.2-6 caption Pressure variation in the tropics compared to higher latitudes
60, Figure 3.4-6 caption SkewT Diagrams
72, Section 3.7, Other Ocean Models

Comparisons between RTOFS, NCOM, and HFRadar.  (And links to Navy Gulf Stream maps.)

We were more optimistic about the value of these predictions when the second edition was written than we are now.

Our compilation of Ocean Currents is at www.starpath.com/currents. This is a work in progress. The 3rd ed. presents a broader look at this subject; we will update the online articles as soon as possible. We do have word from those close to this field that the models are getting better continually.
72-73, near figure 3.7-2 OSCAR currents. We discuss the value of these but forgot to mention one unique application, namely checking flow of Equatorial currents. The 10-day average values of OSCAR currents are useful in planning where to cross the Equatorial countercurrent. Daily forecasts from RTOFS or NCOM do not outline the location of this band of easterly drift as well as the averages do.
85, Figure 4.2-7 caption OSWT filenames for other oceans We have not yet made new graphic indexes to other oceans, but the process is this: Download the global index map (ascending, descending), layout your route across it, then return to the main index to find the image file names by mouse over and reading the link in the browser status bar.
113, Section 4.6, Squall Lines Two case histories, one from the Great Lakes (a special class of squall line called a Derecho) and another well studied example that capsized HMS Eurydice off the Isle of Wight on March 24, 1878 Squall lines Great Lakes , H.M.S. Eurydice
160, Section 7.3, The Next Step Base Maps.  We decided against the bound book solution, and instead will produce a free pdf of the set of them that can be saved and used as needed. For storm tracking with these, or making a weather map based on text or voice forecasts, you would have to either have a printer, or zoom in on the map and region of interest and then do a screen cap and then load that image file into a graphics program that you can digitally annotate.
165, Figure 7.4-11 caption A homemade Google Earth overlay The KML files at OPC are of a crude map projection and not that useful. But you can make your own. We have a couple here. Starpath KML files.  Here is our youtube playlist of GE related videos.
173 Ocean weather discussions In April 2022, OPC/NWS discontinued the ocean weather discussions, but there are still coastal and tropical discussions that can be obtained by ftpMail. See https://www.weather.gov/marine/forecast
179, Section 8.1, Planning Sources A 1977 to 2017 comparison of weather statistics Comparison of tropical storm statistics from 1977 to 2017
Section 8.2 Mariner's Weather Log reference Back issues of this pub remain a valuable resource but it has not been active since the last 2019 issue. Hopefully it will get back in gear after the COVID threats have mitigated some, and gov. agencies get back to a more normal operation.
186, Section 8.2, Archived Weather Data

Ways to get to specific historical data. 

 

Side note: In the Starpath Weather Trainer software there is an atlas of archived data called Archive Atlas (G232). It has direct links to many of these archive sources.

Archived data are presented several places in the book. Use the index entry "archived data" to find links for specific products, which include: ASCAT, 185–186, climate, 237, currents, 73, hurricane data, 105, 120, 186, 203–204, 222, 254, model forecasts, 168–170, 186, 203–204, observations, 11, 39. pressure, 23, QuikSCAT, 236, weather maps, 101, 185, 203, weather radar, 251, yacht race routes, 241. This index item was not in the first printing of the book, but added in later ones.
To study past examples of tropical storms and hurricanes looking at archived values of all related products: analysis, forecast, and tropical cyclone warning maps, NHC Advisories, and archived GFS files, see these several links: nhc.noaa.gov/archive and nomads.ncdc.noaa.gov/data/gfs4/ (354 parameters for whole globe, ~ 60 MB) and ncei.noaa.gov/thredds/model/ncep_charts.html.  You can view the large GFS files in LuckGrib (Mac or iPad only) or Panoply (PC or Mac). We do not know of other viewers capable of showing these large files with so many parameters.  Note: the usual way to access just the parts of a GRIB file we want is called OPeNDAP, but it seems NOMADS no longer (≥ 2018) offers this format for archived model predictions, hence we are left with downloading one valid time per file for the whole globe, covering all 354 parameters. We hope to add some videos on the use of Panoply when we can... there is a learning curve, because the types of files we want to see and how we want to see them for marine applications is not the typical use of this amazing program.
187, Section 8.2, Where to buy Printed Nav Pubs A list of several veteran chart and navigation suppliers from around the country. Each of these outlets is a joy to visit for any navigator, but if they are not convenient to you, they can send you what you need. Needless to say, there are other fine chancelleries and navigation supply stores around the country that might carry these publications or can get them for you; these are the ones we know by direct experience that stock all the crucial publications. There are certainly others.

• Baker, Lyman & Co., Metairie, LA,
800-535-6956, bakerlyman.com
• Binnacle, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada,
800-224-3937, binnacle.com
• Bluewater Books & Charts, Fort Lauderdale, FL,
800-942-2583, bluewaterweb.com
• Landfall Navigation, Stamford, CT,
800-941-2219, landfallnavigation.com
• Pilothouse Charts, Philadelphia, PA
267-773-7858, pilothousecharts.com
• Seabreeze Nautical Books and Charts,
888-449-7011, seabreezenauticalbooks.com
• Starpath School of Navigation
800-955-8328, starpath.com

188, Section 8.3, FTPmail Access to NDFD files in GRIB format
193, Section 8.5 Articles on practical matters related to internet connections at sea
195, Table 8.5-1 We left out an important source UUplus.com, which is a popular, fast service for satellite communications, with high compression.
242, Section 10.7 Instructions on combining GRIB files
248, Figure A5-2 caption Barometer calibration resources
252, Appendix 8, Figure A8-1 caption National Blend of Models (NBM) updates New article in the works on how to interpret NBM probabilistic wind forecasts. In the meantime, this is the defining diagram. See also the excellent coverage of NBM winds at LuckGrib, which includes all the references.
253, Appendix A9, Figure A9-3 We give a formula without a reference. Here is a link to the one the NWS quotes on this topic, although this is a well known relationship used by sailors. Adjusting wind reports for anemometer height
COGOW (4.30.21) Throughout Video note on a landing page update
     
     
Links

There is no logic to the order of these items below

New hands-on content about use of grib files is now at our Grib School
We are finding more and more valuable weather applications to the free program qtVlm. See growing playlist.
 
 
Section of Dove's Law of Storms on Practical Matters (mostly of historical interest)

We have greatly expanded the coverage of ASCAT in the 3rd ed, but here are a couple earlier articles (information in the book is much updated). Here is an index of sorts to the articles: www.starpath.com/ascat. Here is a magazine article from 2011, which is of interest only in that shows what we did not know was on the horizon in those days: ASCAT — Wind at Sea.  In short, this is not a new resource at all, and we hope that the 3rd ed of our book will motivate more usage, as we propose more ways to get the data. Remember ASCAT and ship reports are the truth we need to rely on when interpreting any forecasts.

SAD NEW NEWS (March, 2021) the OPC has discontinued the grib format of this data. We are pleading with them to repair this. See: ASCAT NEWS: the good and the bad

Other satellite wind data. The Navy also has satellite wind data called WindSAT. You can view the WindSAT descending passes and WindSAT ascending passes direct from the Navy, or as analyzed by the OSWT. We have not yet compared the results to ASCAT, which we will do and add here later. In many cases this looks like encouraging supporting data or even data where no ASCAT is available. But in other cases, we cannot quite understand what we are seeing.  So the role of the WindSAT is still an open question for us. We are looking into this.

Starpath Ship Reports free ship reports delivered to your email from within 300 nmi of your location at sea, anywhere in the world (www.starpath.com/shipreports). qtVlm implements this service right in the program.
We have a greatly expanded discussion of models in the 3rd ed. For a concise description of available data see www.luckgrib.com/models
The new (as of early 2018) 72-hr forecasts updated once a day at 12z are now in the FTPmail folder for access by email request. These are not yet on the radiofax broadcast schedules, although this is planned.

http://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/fax

12z Atlantic 72hr surface forecast: PPAK98.TIF
12z Atlantic 72hr wind/wave forecast: PJAK88.TIF

12z Pacific 72hr surface forecast: PPBK98.TIF
12z Pacific 72hr wind/wave forecast: PJBK88.TIF

12z Alaska 72hr surface forecast: PPCK98.TIF
12z Alaska 72hr wind/wave forecast: PJCK88.TIF

These are in the radiofax format, not the color versions we see at OPC. They are available from FTPmail, but not yet from saildocs, unless you make a direct request with the full URL. (If not familiar with the file names, read the various rfax***.txt files at the fax links above.)

Note that there are 72hr tropical maps of the Pacific, but these are not new.

00z Pacific Tropics 72h forecast PYFK83.TIF
12z Pacific Tropics 72h forecast PYFK84.TIF
Latest Pacific Tropics 72h forecast PYFK10.TIF
GFS model runs now include forecasts every 1h to h120, 3h to h240, 12h to h384. It will take a while for 3rd party providers to accommodate these new intervals; most offer every 3h to h48, 6h to h96, 12h to h384. The latest version of LuckGrib induces hourly GFS and FV-GFS out to 18hr.
The HRRR model, which previously updated every hour, extending out to h18, now has modified that schedule to extended to h36 on the specific runs made at HH. That is, the 00, 06, 12, and 18z runs of HRRR extend out to h36, but all of the other 20 runs each day still extend out to h18. We do not know of any automated source of this data that offers the extended forecasts, but they are available by direct download as explained in the text.  This update is even harder for providers to implement, so we wait and see what becomes available, or download it directly ourselves.

As of mid March 2018, the OPC has discontinued showing past or future tracks of both Lows and Highs. They will only show a projected Low position providing it has gale or more winds, or other significant weather associated with it, such as potential for vessel icing due to freezing spray in northern systems. See OPC discussion of this online. This appears to be primarily a budget issue, as they do not have the manpower to add the tracks and still do new things they want to do such as the 72-hr forecasts. On the other hand, we do get this information from global model forecasts, and these changes do clean up the maps, which is in the right direction. We have to wait and see if the new 72-hr forecasts balance out the loss of track data on the surface analysis maps.

Two tropical storm resources not listed in the book:  Global view of tropical storms and hurricanes with many statistics on each system.  Unique analysis of the probability of existing storms and depressions turning into hurricanes (or equivalent systems). 

Contact the Author
Read about our Online Marine Weather Course
Articles
Hopefully, temporary loss of data source. See article on Observations via FTPmail.
Description of our expanded ship reports service. How to get near-live reports by email request.
Our main source is the weather articles at www.starpath.com/articles. Later we will focus here on ones referenced in the book. Below are just a few suggested ones, but see first the Marine Weather Check List and overview of Marine Weather.
We have added to the textbook discussion of weather by satphone in two articles in our nav blog: Nuts and Bolts of Sat Phone Usage and Weather by Sat Phone.  The book updates these.
Two new articles related to converting station pressure to sea level pressure: Point Four Four per Floor — QFE to QNH to QFF and Mean Sea Level, Tides, and Barometers
True Wind Revisited which are updated notes on computing True Wind from Apparent Wind when COG ≠ Heading... again, our treatment of accurate true wind computations is greatly expanded in the text.
Ensemble Prediction Systems — an NCEP tutorial
Notes on HF use in South Pacific and other places by MetBob Article 1 and follow up Article 2, also tells how to receive Bob's valuable weekly reports by email request to saildocs. Must have for SPAC sailing.
Hurricanes on the Route to Hawaii — Weather vs. Climate.  Summary: we do not have to change anything we have been teaching on this for the past 20 years.
Effect of Leeway on Knotmeter Speed   ... a follow up on a point only mentioned briefly in the book.   
Videos
See starpath.com/videos  (we will itemize these later)
An example of the corner effect, which we just annotated with our new favorite way to predict where this effect will occur in the Northern Hemisphere: with your back to the wind, expect enhanced winds off large low corners on your right hand side.  Start with the Buys-Ballot law for finding direction to lowest pressure (left hand in NH), which puts the wind on your back. Then corner effect is on your right. So the Buys Ballot law gives you two things: direction to low pressure on your left, and potential corner effect winds on your right. Both directions are reversed in the SH. We have other ways to predict this in the book, but this is probably an easier way to remember it.

Using Buoy Data and BuoyCAMs to study Passing Storms.  This is an article on the subject with links to several related videos. (This is an update to earlier links that have been removed because they are outdated now that the Hurricane Florence has gone ashore.)

To see the corresponding ASCAT wind measurements along the East Coast of the US you can use these links. Then look at Ascending and Descending separately. East Coast Ascending.kml and East Coast Descending.kml There has to be two links so they work in a phone as well as a computer. These KML do not have to be updated. They should last to cover the next East Coast storm, or to use anytime you want to check the winds. The data shown will the the latest available whenever you open Google Earth.

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