Power Kite Forum

switching from windmapper to wunderground

snowspider - 10-3-2013 at 07:10 PM

Too many times this winter windmapper has been way off. Today it was 30-40 mph off. Mostly calm to under 10 mph today every where, yet WM increased its predicted wind for today to 40mph. Its time for me to learn a new web site.

Snake - 10-3-2013 at 07:37 PM

I agree that windmapper can be off sometimes. Thats why I check accuweather.com and weather.com to comfirm what the wind truely is.

flyhighWNY - 10-3-2013 at 07:51 PM

wunderground pretty good but really need to know where exactly these statoins are... 1 station in my area is surrounded by trees and no higher than 15' up so not a very accurate reading however there are several others that are. so map them see where they are..

3shot - 10-3-2013 at 09:08 PM

Quote:
Originally posted by flyhighWNY
wunderground pretty good but really need to know where exactly these statoins are... 1 station in my area is surrounded by trees and no higher than 15' up so not a very accurate reading however there are several others that are. so map them see where they are..


+1 ^.
Awe man.... My second hobby! I love Wunderground. It helps a ton with all my outdoor activities. Yea, my station is on the site too. For some reason, my weather sticker does not post here...
It will show up in the draft, but not final post :puzzled:

My anemometer is on a mast 30' in the air. That's the best I can output data :singing:
Flyhigh is right. know the station you are looking at. Or get a good average from several on the map in your area. :thumbup:

Kober - 10-3-2013 at 09:40 PM

I have been happy with Wind Alert for long time now ....

Cheddarhead - 10-3-2013 at 10:24 PM

I agree that some of the web sites are not very reliable. I tend to look at multiple sites and take an average of what the day might be like. Most of my data comes from nearby airports but I don't kite at airports so it's only of general use.

flyjump - 10-3-2013 at 10:54 PM

Windalert.com is awesome for finding close weather stations and is the best for the hourly mapping

Suds after thuds - 11-3-2013 at 07:40 AM

I like windfinder.com

abkayak - 11-3-2013 at 12:11 PM

i tend to match up wunderground w/ NOAA wind forecast....i think they have the same source and are usually dead on w/ reports......always amazed that the wind seams to do exactly what they predict

SFKITER - 11-3-2013 at 03:23 PM

I fking hate how I dont make plans to go fly because the winds arnt going to be good and then I look and see the winds are 10-15mph perfect when it was supposed to be 4-8mph winds. GRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

zero gee - 11-3-2013 at 03:41 PM

It seems like one season that one service is accurate another season another service is better. I look at a few and then decide.

Before I make a final decision on whether to drive up and kite or leave for home I check these maps from Unisys Weather. They show the surface wind speed in a contour plot and are updated every hour (about 25 minutes after the hour). I will have a look at the current map and the -1 and -2 hour maps for the trends. As long as the contours show 10-14 it is kiteable on the water for me. If the trend shows it moving in, or hanging around, or moving away slowly, or not decreasing rapidly, it's all good. For my area these maps have proven priceless and has saved me tons.

http://weather.unisys.com/surface/sfc_con.php?image=ws&i...

3shot - 11-3-2013 at 04:31 PM

Plus most wunderground stations rapid fire data every 30 seconds to the web.

It really is awesome to watch the speed and direction update every few seconds from said location.

soliver - 12-3-2013 at 07:48 AM

I am a big fan of the windalert app for iPhone and iPad. Those are what I use most.

I used to check windfinder.com but I got REALLY sick of seeing advertisements for all those dating services that are entirely inappropriate for my kids to see.

Angus has a link to the windalert app on the Coastal wind sports web page. I think the app is even way better than their site.

Scudley - 12-3-2013 at 07:59 AM

I like sailflow.com. They give four model predictions and the wind rose for the location. For current conditions on the Pacific Coast, University of Washington has the hourly surface wind reading maps at http://www.atmos.washington.edu/data/data.php?loc=local.

S

Cerebite - 14-3-2013 at 07:31 PM

In addition to the site mentioned above I like usairnet which is a parachute/ ultralight/ paraglider site. Airnet give average speed while windfinder does separate bars for steady and gusts. It is interesting to me that the Airnet app and the Airnet website have great but different content.

TEDWESLEY - 20-3-2013 at 09:18 AM

On the coast of Maine, sailflow.com has been working well for me. Unfortunately
you can't order wind when you want it!

SFKITER - 20-3-2013 at 08:58 PM

I look at Weather.com/ Windadlert.com and Wunderground like 100 times before I go and fly and just average all 3 of the reports out