Differing Weather Forecasts

Willhound

Trying to plan a weekend getaway but the Admiral is wary of wind. Not only out of fear, she has back issues and too much bouncing around is not good. We have two main commercial sources for forecasts. Accuweather which I prefer and seems to be accurate as the name implies. Also have the Weather Network, an affiliate but separate from the in in the US. It always seems to me that they are more severe in their forecasts. It's almost like they want to predict the worst and when it doesn't happen everybody's happy. And if it is bad they can say they were right. Driving myself crazy trying to make a decision so I can book slips etc.

aero3113

Download the PredictWind app , it’s a great app to follow the wind forecast along with other forecasts.

Willhound

Here it is in Foreignheat....

So Accuweather thinks 7 to 13 mph which is fine. Weather Network is 14 to 24, theirow is the others high. How can they differ so much when supposedly using the same base data. Our return on Sunday or Monday is the same. 24mph means about 4 foot rollers in the big part of the lake. 14 mph and I can cruise on plane no problem.

LaRea

Have you tried Weather Underground?  I can't vouch for their accuracy in your area, but they are pretty good here.  And I like their data display for the 10-day forecast.
https://www.wunderground.com/forecast/CYLS

Handymans342

It’s going to be 18 degrees at night???? Wow

MarkB

Handymans342 said:

It’s going to be 18 degrees at night???? Wow

That's Celsius ... and yeah, that's probably still way too cold for you FL girls.

Dream_Inn

I'll second wonderground for weather, but I use noaa for wind.  They have great graphical for wave conditions.

Handymans342

MarkB said:

Handymans342 said:

It’s going to be 18 degrees at night???? Wow

That's Celsius ... and yeah, that's probably still way too cold for you FL girls.

I knew that! I triggered you. Lol

Michael T

There was condensation on my boat.....that's the beginning of the end. That and back to school and Walmart Christmas stuff say it's almost over! :-)

benvenuttioki

I use Windy and SailFlow apps for wind and Weather Underground for general prediction.

Willhound

Thanks for all the suggestions gang. I've used most of them in the past, some I still do. Although my main go to's are Accuweather and Windfinder  and My Radar. I also use Weather Network, Weather Underground and Sail Finder (same company and I think pretty much the same as Wind Finder. Our own Environment Canada government forecasts are almost useless as they tend to cover very wide areas. NOAA is primarily American, some coverage of the Canadian side of the great lakes. Their radar is pretty good. Weather Underground is also mostly accurate on the US side I find also.
I guess my frustration is that out of the 4 or 5 big ones, no two agree so trying to see a pattern is difficult. What one forecasts as the high for wind gusts, another will show as their low end with a gust 3 times what the other is showing. It's also a little wonky right now as the forward effects of Hurricane Laura will start to be felt this weekend.
That, along with the lack of consensus among forecasters and the Admiral having a bit of trouble with a knee right now have changed our plans anyway. She pointed out that our 29th wedding anniversary is this weekend and with her concern about the weather and her knee she wasn't keen on 3 days on the boat in iffy weather. 
As a result we've booked two nights in Niagara Falls with reservations for a nice steak dinner on Saturday and an all day wine tour Sunday (with a private, socially distanced company) that is only taking very small groups to small family owned wineries.
I'd rather be on the boat, and if I pushed it she would go along but after 29 years I can read her pretty good, and when I announced I'd made the reservations she was very happy and admitted she'd enjoy it much more, with much less worry.
All about compromise folks.

YYZRC

Sounds like a great weekend plan.

LaRea

Compromise is how you make it 29 years.  (I know because I celebrated my 30th two days ago!)