This Page will give you access to Weather and some other useful links. You will probably see that the various sites do not give the same forecast. This is why, at times, when our clients phone to confirm if their trip is still on, I can sometimes appear a bit hesitant, with conflicting weather reports it is not easy for me to make a decision. Do I disappoint by telling you it will be a fine day, and then we find on the day its too rough to enjoy, or visa versa. With the multitude of weather sites available on the internet, you can always find a weather forecast you like, the trouble is they are not always what you get. We do not have a magic solution to getting an accurate forecast, some Days we have to second guess the weather situation. Click the links below and you will see what I mean. The most accurate in our experience are Buoy Weather and UK Weather online, xc weather, is another good one. The Pressure Charts, if you know how to interpret them are good for seeing how the weather will progress throughout the day. The Magic Seaweed site is realy for Surfers, but is very informative with lots of links and has webcams so you can see real time conditions. We now have a wave monitoring bouy in Start Bay, part of the renewable energy survey I think, it has actual conditions readout. See link at bottom of the list.

Dartmouth, Web cam and wind monitors. Froward Point. Mouth of the Dart.

xcweather hover the cursor over the wind arrow for the area you want

7 Day Wind prediction site. UK Weather online

Buoy Weather 2 day Forecast

Surface Water Temperatures

BBC Inshore Forecast 24hr

5 Day forecast for Dartmouth. BBC

Rickham, A local site to us with an on-line weather monitor. See what the weather is doing at the moment

Surface pressure forecast

Infrared satellite animation

Met Office Marine forecasts 5 days Dartmouth

Satellite Images

Inshore waters forecast and strong wind warnings

Magic Seaweed Site A site for surfers really, but they have lots of info and web cams around the coast.

Wave height in Start Bay. Real time monitoring.

Marine forecasts glossary

Marine forecasts contain a number of terms which are used to convey specific meanings.

Gale warnings

Gale Winds of at least Beaufort force 8 (34-40 knots) or gusts reaching 43-51 knots
Severe gale Winds of force 9 (41-47 knots) or gusts reaching 52-60 knots
Storm Winds of force 10 (48-55 knots) or gusts reaching 61-68 knots
Violent storm Winds of force 11 (56-63 knots) or gusts of 69 knots or more
Hurricane force Winds of force 12 (64 knots or more)

Note: The term used is 'hurricane force'; the term 'hurricane' on its own means a true tropical cyclone, not experienced in British waters.

Imminent Expected within six hours of time of issue
Soon Expected within six to 12 hours of time of issue
Later Expected more than 12 hours from time of issue

Visibility

Fog Visibility less than 1,000 metres
Poor Visibility between 1,000 metres and 2 nautical miles
Moderate Visibility between 2 and 5 nautical miles
Good Visibility more than 5 nautical miles

Movement of pressure systems

Slowly Moving at less than 15 knots
Steadily Moving at 15 to 25 knots
Rather quickly Moving at 25 to 35 knots
Rapidly Moving at 35 to 45 knots
Very rapidly Moving at more than 45 knots

Pressure tendency in station reports

Rising (or falling) slowly Pressure change of 0.1 to 1.5 hPa in the preceding three hours
Rising (or falling) Pressure change of 1.6 to 3.5 hPa in the preceding three hours
Rising (or falling) quickly Pressure change of 3.6 to 6.0 hPa in the preceding three hours
Rising (or falling) v. rapidly Pressure change of more than 6.0 hPa in the preceding three hours
Now rising (or falling) Pressure has been falling (rising) or steady in the preceding three hours, but at the time of observation was definitely rising (falling)

Note: For those more familiar with the millibar, 1 hPa = 1 mb

Wind

Wind direction Indicates the direction from which the wind is blowing
Becoming cyclonic Indicates that there will be considerable change in wind direction across the path of a depression within the forecast area
Veering The changing of the wind direction clockwise, e.g. SW to W
Backing The changing of the wind in the opposite direction to veering (anticlockwise), e.g. SE to NE

The Beaufort Wind Scale

The Beaufort Scale, used throughout the marine world, has developed over many years since it was first devised by Admiral Francis Beaufort in 1806. Today, the Beaufort scale is defined for seamen in terms of sea state. It's emphasis is more on the observed effect of the wind, rather than the actual wind speed.

Beaufort Force	Wind Speed Knots	Description	Sea Condition
0	0	Calm	Sea like a mirror
1	1 - 3	Light air	Ripples but without foam crests
2	4 - 6	Light breeze	Small wavelets. Crests do not break
3	7 - 10	Gentle breeze	Large wavelets. Perhaps scattered white horses
4	11 - 16	Moderate breeze	Small waves. Fairly frequent white horses
5	17 - 21	Fresh breeze	Moderate waves. Many white horses
6	22 - 27	Strong breeze	Large waves begin to form; white foam crests. Probably spray
7	28 - 33	Near gale	Sea heaps up and white foam blown in streaks along the direction of the wind
8	34 - 40	Gale	Moderately high waves. Crests begin to break into spindrift. The foam is blown in well marked streaks along the direction of the wind
9	41 - 47	Severe gale	High waves. Dense foam along the direction of the wind. Crests of waves begin to roll over. Spray may affect visibility
10	48 - 55	Storm	Very high waves with long overhanging crests. The surface of the sea takes a white appearance. The tumbling of the sea becomes heavy and shock-like. Visibility affected
11	56 - 63	Violent storm	Exceptionally high waves. The sea is completely covered with long white patches of foam lying in the direction of the wind. Visibility affected
12	64+	Hurricane	The air is filled with foam and spray. Sea completely white with driving spray. Visibility very seriously affected