Resources for Staying Weather-Informed While Boating
Every day on the water can't have balmy breezes, abundant sunshine and consistently warm weather; however, staying out of bad weather is relatively easy if you plan ahead. The National Weather Service (NWS) provides mariners with continuous broadcasts of weather warnings, forecasts, radar reports and buoy reports over VHF-FM and Single Side Band (SSB) radio.
There are almost no areas on the Atlantic ICW where a good quality, fixed-mount VHF cannot pick up one or more coastal VHF broadcasts. Also, there is no substitute for simply looking at the sky, and either stay put or seek shelter if you don't like what you see.
VHF-FM/NOAA Weather Frequencies
- WX1 162.550 MHz
- WX2 162.400 MHz
- WX3 162.475 MHz
- WX4 162.425 MHz
- WX5 162.450 MHz
- WX6 162.500 MHz
- WX7 162.525 MHz
SSB Offshore Weather
SSB reports are broadcast from station NMN in Chesapeake, VA, and from station NMG in New Orleans, LA. The broadcasts are not continuous, so refer to the latest schedules and frequency lists (provided below) to catch them. SSB reports provide the best source of voice offshore weather information.
Two major broadcasts alternate throughout the day. The High Seas Forecast provides information for mariners well offshore, including those crossing the North Atlantic Ocean. Coastal cruisers will be more interested in the Offshore Forecast, which includes information on waters more than 50 miles from shore. The forecast is divided into regions:
- UTC 0330 (Offshore) Chesapeake, VA (NMN) Frequencies (khz): 4426.0, 6501.0, 8764.0 New Orleans, LA (NMG) Frequencies (khz): 4316.0, 8502.0, 12788.0
- UTC 0515 (High Seas) Chesapeake, VA (NMN) Frequencies (khz): 4426.0, 6501.0, 8764.0
New Orleans, LA (NMG) Frequencies (khz): 4316.0, 8502.0, 12788.0 - UTC 0930 (Offshore) Chesapeake, VA (NMN) Frequencies (khz): 4426.0, 6501.0, 8764.0
New Orleans, LA (NMG) Frequencies (khz): 4316.0, 8502.0, 12788.0 - UTC 1115 (High Seas) Chesapeake, VA (NMN) Frequencies (khz): 6501.0, 8764.0, 13089.0
New Orleans, LA (NMG) Frequencies (khz): 4316.0, 8502.0, 12788.0 - UTC 1530 (Offshore) Chesapeake, VA (NMN) Frequencies (khz): 6501.0, 8764.0, 13089.0
New Orleans, LA (NMG) Frequencies (khz): 4316.0, 8502.0, 12788.0 - UTC 1715 (High Seas)
Chesapeake, VA (NMN) Frequencies (khz): 8764.0, 13089.0, 17314.0
New Orleans, LA (NMG) Frequencies (khz): 4316.0, 8502.0, 12788.0 - UTC 2130 (Offshore)
Chesapeake, VA (NMN) Frequencies (khz): 6501.0, 8764.0, 13089.0
New Orleans, LA (NMG) Frequencies (khz): 4316.0, 8502.0, 12788.0 - UTC 2315 (High Seas)
Chesapeake, VA (NMN) Frequencies (khz): 6501.0, 8764.0, 13089.0
New Orleans, LA (NMG) Frequencies (khz): 4316.0, 8502.0, 12788.0
Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is equivalent to Greenwich Mean Time
Weather Apps (FREE)
- Boat Weather
- Buoycast: NOAA Marine Forecast
- National Hurricane Center Tracker
- NOAA Marine Weather Radar
- NOAA Weather
- PredictWind
- Windfinder
- Windy
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