How to Predict Bad Weather While Out on a Boat

If you develop an understanding of weather patterns and visible signals of weather changes you can protect yourself while out on your boat. Here are some signs to help you predict bad weather.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Listen to the weather forecasts before you head out for a day on your boat.
   
   

2. Learn to read weather maps and study pressure systems and fronts.
   
   

3. Familiarize yourself with the Beaufort Scale as a tool to predict wind speed. This instrument can alert you to calms and gusts that may indicate a change in the weather.
   
   

4. Learn how to gauge the wind, to notice its affects on the water surface and onshore objects as well as other boats.

5. Learn to assess clouds and whether their formations indicate danger. Thunderstorms can develop quickly.
   
   

Tips & Warnings

• Keep an emergency weather radio on your boat to listen for reports on weather changes.
• Use a barometer to measure changes in air pressure.
• To play it safe, head to shore when bad weather is expected.
• Weather forecasts meant for folks on land may not accurately predict the way the weather will change on a lake, river or ocean.

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