WEATHER SCIENCE & SPOTTING
Storm spotting, cloud identification, safety fundamentals. Dry material. Useful results.
TRAINING
Official paths for weather, emergency management, storm spotting, and first aid. These exist so people can be useful rather than decorative during an event.
FEMA TRAINING
Preparedness, incident command, emergency planning. The paperwork side of not looking helpless when it counts.
FIRST AID & DISASTER RESPONSE
Medical basics, sheltering, household planning. The kind of thing everyone wishes they had done before the lights went out.
HAZARDS
Official pages stay current and go deeper than a summary should. Use them.
TORNADO
Shelter guidance, watches, warnings. Get low, get inside, stop negotiating with the sky.
NWS Tornado Safety →HURRICANE
Storm surge, wind, evacuation, inland flooding. Not just windy logos on TV maps.
NOAA Hurricane Prep →FLOODING
Flash and river flooding. Water wins more arguments than people expect.
NWS Flood Safety →LIGHTNING
Safe shelter, outdoor event rules. The correct option is not a tree, despite its posture.
NWS Lightning Safety →HEAT
Heat illness, heat index, vulnerable populations. Heat does not care that the calendar said picnic.
NWS Heat Safety →WINTER
Snow, ice, wind chill, hypothermia. Winter has a long memory and poor manners.
NWS Winter Safety →WILDFIRE
Red flag warnings, smoke, evacuation. Dry wind is not just ambiance.
NWS Wildfire Safety →EARTHQUAKE
Drop, cover, hold on. Simple instructions, inconvenient timing.
USGS Earthquake Prep →WEATHER BASICS
Enough orientation to be useful. Not enough to impersonate a textbook with weather anxiety.
CLOUD TYPES
Clouds indicate moisture, atmospheric stability, lift, and storm development. Occasionally also whether your outdoor plan is about to get humbled.
PRESSURE, HUMIDITY & WIND
Pressure trends, dew point, wind direction, and gusts are core weather signals. Tiny clues, sometimes large consequences.
THUNDERSTORMS
Severe storms need moisture, instability, lift, and wind shear. Nature remains enthusiastic about combining these.
QUICK MEASUREMENT REFERENCES
| Topic | Reference | Link |
|---|---|---|
| Wind speed | mph, knots, gusts, and Beaufort scale for land and marine. | Beaufort Scale |
| Hurricane wind | Saffir-Simpson scale: categories 1 through 5. | NHC Scale |
| Tornado intensity | Enhanced Fujita Scale: EF0 through EF5. | SPC EF Scale |
| Lightning distance | Flash-to-bang method and the 30-30 safety rule. | NWS Lightning Safety |
| Heat risk | Heat index, heat illness stages, and alert thresholds. | NWS Heat Index |
| Wind chill | Wind chill chart and frostbite risk combinations. | NWS Wind Chill |
| Wave period | Significant wave height, swell period, marine sea state. | NDBC Wave Primer |
MARITIME WEATHER
Water changes the risk profile. Watch wind, wave height and period, visibility, tides, currents, water temperature, and storm movement. The bay does not care how good your weekend sounded in theory.
Dockside rule: The safest weather decision is made before departure. If the marine forecast is marginal, the vessel is not ready, or the crew is inexperienced, stay tied up. Pride is not flotation.
MARINE ZONE FORECASTS
Wind, seas, visibility, and hazards by zone. The official forecast, not a barometer app's best guess.
REAL-TIME OCEAN DATA
Live observations from buoys, coastal stations, and offshore platforms. Actual conditions, not model output.
TIDES, CURRENTS & WATER LEVELS
Predicted and observed tide levels, current tables, and water level monitoring across U.S. coastal stations.
NAUTICAL CHARTS & PLANNING
Official nautical charts, aids to navigation, and NOTMARs for U.S. waters.
BOATING SAFETY & RESCUE
Federal requirements, safety training, float plans, VHF procedures, distress signals.
OCEAN CONDITIONS & COASTAL HAZARDS
Sea surface temperatures, storm surge, coastal flooding, and tsunami warnings.
MARINE WEATHER: WHAT TO WATCH
| Parameter | Why it matters | Threshold to respect |
|---|---|---|
| Sustained wind | Determines sea state and vessel control. Small-craft advisories begin at 21 knots. | SCA: 21-33 kt | Gale: 34-47 kt | Storm: 48+ kt |
| Wind gusts | Gusts exceed sustained wind and can overwhelm boat handling without warning. | Watch for gusts 10+ kt above sustained wind. |
| Sig. wave height | Average of highest one-third of waves. Occasional waves will be taller. | Most small craft should reconsider above 4 ft. |
| Wave period | Short, steep chop (low period) is harder to manage than long rolling swells. | Under 6 sec: uncomfortable. Under 4 sec: rough going. |
| Visibility | Fog, rain, and spray affect navigation and collision avoidance. | Below 0.5 nm: stand-on rules apply with extra caution. |
| Water temperature | Cold water incapacitates faster than people expect. | Below 60°F: survival time measured in minutes without exposure protection. |
| Thunderstorm timing | On water, lightning risk is severe. There is no good shelter offshore. | Head in before visible storms. No activity in range. |
| Tidal current | Opposing wind against outgoing current builds steep, confused seas in inlets. | Check charts and current tables before transiting inlets. |
BEAUFORT SCALE (MARINE)
| Force | Wind (kt) | Description | Marine sea state |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | Calm | Calm | Glassy |
| 1-2 | 1-6 | Light air / light breeze | Ripples, small wavelets |
| 3-4 | 7-16 | Gentle / moderate breeze | Small waves, some whitecaps |
| 5-6 | 17-27 | Fresh / strong breeze | Moderate waves, many whitecaps, spray |
| 7 | 28-33 | Near gale | Sea heaps, foam streaks. SCA threshold. |
| 8-9 | 34-47 | Gale / strong gale | Moderately high waves, heavy spray. Gale warning. |
| 10-11 | 48-63 | Storm / violent storm | Very high waves, rolling seas. Storm warning. |
| 12 | 64+ | Hurricane force | Exceptionally high waves, dangerous sea state. |
VHF Channel 16 and distress procedures
Channel 16 is the international distress, safety, and calling channel. Monitor it while underway. For grave and imminent danger: MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY, then vessel name, position, nature of distress, persons aboard. For urgency: PAN-PAN. For safety: SÉCURITÉ. Switch to a working channel after contact is established.
Float plans and pre-departure checklist
Leave a float plan with someone ashore before every offshore or overnight trip: vessel description and ID, destination and route, crew list with contacts, expected return time, and communication equipment aboard. Also check fuel, flares, life jackets, bilge pump, fire extinguisher, horn, anchor gear, charts, and weather before departure.
Cold water and immersion survival
Cold water shock occurs in any water below 70°F. In water below 50°F, swimming failure can set in within minutes. Wearing a life jacket is the single most effective measure. HELP posture and huddling extend survival time. Priority: stay with the vessel if possible, activate EPIRB or PLB, stay afloat, signal rescuers.
EPIRB, PLB, and satellite communicators
An EPIRB transmits distress on 406 MHz to the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite network. Must be registered with NOAA. A PLB is the personal equivalent for individual crew. Satellite communicators provide two-way messaging outside cellular range. These do not replace sound judgment, but they significantly improve rescue outcomes when things go wrong.
EQUIPMENT
What people actually need, not what looks heroic in a gear photo.
HOME READINESS
Water, food, lighting, battery power, radio, first aid, medication, sanitation, documents, pet supplies, and a backup cooking plan. Boring until needed, then suddenly brilliant.
Ready.gov Build a Kit →VEHICLE READINESS
Water, blanket, charger, flashlight, first aid, reflective vest, jumper pack, tire inflator, map, rain gear. The glovebox cannot survive on old napkins alone.
Ready.gov Car Safety →WEATHER MONITORING TOOLS
NOAA weather radio, power banks, rain gauge, thermometer, barometer, anemometer, waterproof bags, printed contacts. Batteries included only if you had the sense to buy them.
NOAA Weather Radio →LIVE TOOLS & DATA
For when conditions are changing and speculation has become a poor substitute for data.
ACTIVE ALERTS
Current watches, warnings, advisories. Worth checking before the thunder starts making suggestions.
NWS Active Alerts →RADAR
National and local radar. Consult before declaring the storm will probably miss you.
NWS Radar →SEVERE OUTLOOKS
Convective outlooks, mesoscale discussions, watches. Where storm forecasters say the quiet part early.
Storm Prediction Center →FLOOD OUTLOOKS
Rainfall, river, and excessive rainfall guidance. Where the water may become everyone's problem.
Weather Prediction Center →RIVER GAUGES
Observed and forecast river conditions. Rivers are patient until they are not.
National Water Prediction →MARINE FORECASTS
Coastal and offshore marine zone forecasts by region. Check before departure, not after.
NWS Marine →AIR QUALITY
Smoke, ozone, and particle pollution. Air should not be crunchy.
AirNow →EARTHQUAKES
Latest seismic activity and hazard maps. Usually boring, occasionally furniture-rearranging.
USGS Earthquake Map →RESOURCES
A compact directory of high-value sources. No filler.