Marine Weather for Beginners

An understanding of marine forecasting is critical to planning safe and comfortable cruises. Learning about marine forecasting can be a challenge due to the confusing terminology, symbols and meteorological shorthand that appear on forecast maps. This presentation is designed for cruisers who are new to marine forecasting or those who are interested in a basic refresher.  The presentation will introduce the skills needed for a basic understanding of forecasting and interpretation of surface weather maps. We’ll also cover several important weather forecasting websites.

What you will learn at the presentation:

• Barometric pressure
• Air masses
• Frontal boundaries and other surface weather features
  • Isobars
  • Low pressure
  • Stationary fronts
  • Cold fronts
  • Warm fronts
  • Occluded fronts
  • Troughs
  • High pressure
  • Ridges
  • Tropical cyclones
• Meteorological Time
• Interpreting surface forecast maps
• Color shading on weather maps
• Interpreting contours
• Wind barbs & streamlines
• Significant wave heights
• Key forecasting websites