Please select your home edition
Edition
Cyclops Marine 2023 November - LEADERBOARD

Windy.app weather app for sailing gains two unique features for iOS

by Windy.App 1 Aug 2020 04:36 UTC
Windy.app has released its bigger update for iOS over the past year © Michael Held / Unsplash

Windy.app has released its bigger update for iOS over the past year. Three new weather features yachtsmen need the most — atmospheric fronts, isobars and wind barbs — make it a universal weather app for sailing and other outdoor activities.

Two of the three features are unique among mobile applications. It helps sailors to better understand the weather, plan the route and avoid risks when going to sea.

From the beginning of 2020, the features have been available in the Android app version and WindHub — a separate sailing application from Windy.app. Atmospheric fronts, isobars and wind barbs are now available on any iOS or Android mobile device.

Why do sailors need these three features?

1. Atmospheric Fronts allow yachtsmen to see regional weather changes

It may be the strong winds, rains and thunderstorms, mists... With this feature sailors could be ahead of it. Atmospheric Fronts significantly improve the safety of sea trips.

The forecast is from the most trustful sources: NOAA (US) and DWD (Germany).

This is a unique feature in Windy.app, which is not available in other yachting apps for iOS.

The blue arcs are cold fronts (air masses), the red ones — warm, the blue and red are stationary fronts — a front between warm and cold air masses that moves very slowly or not at all. The orange arcs called troughs are emerging fronts.

Anton Frolov, kitesurfer and cofounder: "We talked to dozens of yachtsmen and implemented the features exactly as the professionals need. Thanks to the update, Windy.app is now the first application to have all the weather (and not only) features for yachtsmen. In addition to the three new ones, it is a Weather Archive for 10 years, Route Planner, Tidal Data and much more. All the features are both functional, easy to use and just beautiful."

2. Isobars are needed to understand what is happening in the atmosphere

To know what the general weather situation is like. Isobars help to assess fronts, wind rotation and speed, cyclone depth, etc. With Isobars sailors can plan long trips and have a more complete picture of the weather more than a week ahead.

The forecast is for 10 days (GFS27) with updates four times a day.

This and the next feature — wind barbs — can be used in offline mode, when there is no internet access, if you save a section of the map in advance.

Isobars are lines that connect points with the same atmospheric pressure on the map. Isobars that are close to one another mean fast wind, because the higher the pressure difference between two areas of the map is, the faster the wind is, and vice-versa.

Mikhail Akselrod, fishermen and cofounder: "We believe that the new features will attract three times as many sailors and other users. In the app they communicate, share experience and help each other in the community and chats right in the marinas and spots. They give us feedback and help to find new ideas of development."

3. Wind Barbs are used to forecast wind direction and speed

It is just a familiar format for displaying the wind field. That's how they were drawn on the maps before, and so many people are used to seeing them.

In Windy.app wind barbs are located in the nodes of the weather model grid — points on the map where the weather is predicted. This excludes interpolation (forecast errors) — the forecast is as accurate as possible. It's updated every three hours.

The wind barbs are from of the 10 weather models used in the app.

In this implementation, it is another unique feature of Windy.app.

The signs on the map show wind direction from the dots and speed (the number and type of barbs), the circles mean no wind.

Natalia Pavlova, sailor and software developer: "Our new app, WindHub, remains a convenient for yachtsmen. We intend to make it necessary but easy-to-use app. The WindHub is a lightweight app (48,3 MB) that loads quickly and consumes little Internet traffic. It contents of all the features described above, and has more planned."

If you are a beginner sailor, learn more about each of the three new features in the Windy.app blog:

Read more about basic meteorology for sailing, guides to boats, licenses and racings, sailing routes, and events in the "Big Collection of Articles About Sailing in 2020-21".

Related Articles

Cape Horn Hall of Fame nominations close by 30 May
Public nominations open for just a little longer The International Association of Cape Horners (IACH) is calling for nominations for new inductees to the Cape Horn Hall of Fame. Posted on 22 May
Cruising through the Islands of French Polynesia
World ARC 2025-26 fleet recently spent six unforgettable weeks here The 30 yachts of the World ARC 2025-26 fleet recently spent six unforgettable weeks "free cruising" among the three main sailing archipelagos of French Polynesia: the Marquesas, the Tuamotus, and the legendary Society Islands. Posted on 21 May
Introducing the Calibrator from SailingPerformance
Onboard electronics from Sailling Performance Have you ever sailed on a boat where the wind numbers coming from the onboard electronics were constantly wrong, where every time you tacked, the wind seemed to back by 15 degrees? Posted on 21 May
Coast Guard proposes removing hundreds of buoys
Some buoys are in notoriously rocky and challenging bays and harbors on the Northern Atlantic Coast On April 15, the First Coast Guard District released an initiative proposing the removal of hundreds of navigational buoys, or Aids to Navigation (AtoNs). Posted on 20 May
Henri-Lloyd supports Jazz Turner's challenge
GBR para-athlete overcomes fears in attempt to break record For a young woman with multiple and complex health issues, Jazz Turner is remarkable calm as she faces her imminent departure on her around Great Britain sailing challenge. Posted on 20 May
Discover the hybrid version of the Excess 11
Pairing a genset with twin electric engines By offering a hybrid engine aboard the Excess 11, our iconic, entry-level model, Excess Catamarans asserts its pioneer spirit, constantly innovating in the pursuit of a new way to cruise. Posted on 19 May
Sailing is for Everyone – and We Mean It
Rooster are proud to support the communities making that a reality Sailing is a sport with space for everyone - and at Rooster, we're proud to support the communities making that a reality. Posted on 19 May
Fleet arrives for Anniversary of Operation Dynamo
In Ramsgate for 85th Anniversary Commemorative return to Dunkirk The Association of Dunkirk Little Ships (ADLS) fleet has sailed from far and wide to reach Ramsgate over this past weekend to gather for the Operation Dynamo 85th Anniversary Commemorative return to Dunkirk. Posted on 19 May
Monk seal & sea turtle research & recovery review
As we prepare for our 2025 field camps, we look back on the important work done in 2024 Monitoring and population assessment field camps are the foundation of NOAA's research and recovery efforts for Hawaiian monk seals and Hawaiian green sea turtles (honu) in the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. Posted on 18 May
The Shrink in the Drink
A world first book launch, perhaps? Andrew Hill-Smith was the third person to sail around GB in a Laser dinghy. He was the oldest person to do so, totally unsupported. It took 4 half months, and in the process, he raised over £21,000 across three charities. Posted on 18 May
Noble Marine 2022 SW - FOOTERStoneways Marine 2021 - FOOTERGJW Direct 2024 Dinghy