Lake Weather

[Rattletrap]

What does everyone look for when heading out for the day? What I mean is, when predicting what type of boating day is going to be do you, look father west to see what's coming? What would be considered high winds? What wind direction would have the most impact? What are the tell tale signs there is going to be a storm....etc.

[GTO]

What does everyone look for when heading out for the day? What I mean is, when predicting what type of boating day is going to be do you, look father west to see what's coming? What would be considered high winds? What wind direction would have the most impact? What are the tell tale signs there is going to be a storm....etc.

I always check the forecast, especially on those hot humid days when thunderstorms pop up at anytime. Its a lot easier now with all the weather apps you can load onto your phone. The apps are helpful but I have learned the hard way that storms came come in quickly over the tops of mountains and be on top of you without much warning. I have even been driving through the Weirs in bright sunshine and look down into Meredith into the pouring rain. Tip: carry a pair of sun glasses or safety glasses in the glove box. When you are in a storm and trying to out race it, the rain hitting your face and eyes hurt

[Pricestavern]

In general, look to the west to see what's coming.

As for winds and rough water, it depends on your location in regards to 'fetch'. The further the wind can blow on the water unimpeded (fetch) the bigger the waves will build. A strong (16mph +) wind from the NW may not be so bad in coves and bays in the northern part of the lake, but those same winds, traveling the 20+ miles down the Broads will put up some big rollers down the Wolfboro/Rattlesnake Island end of the lake (and of course, visa versa).

Duration of wind is also an important factor. 15 mph winds blowing for a couple hours will not do much but make some chop and spray. Those same 15 mph winds blowing for 10 or 12 hours will build some much larger waves.

Check the weather for upcoming storm conditions, check what they're saying (and your seeing) for wind direction, speed, and duration. From that information, decide where you want to venture on the lake, if at all. If it's windy, stay on the lee (wind protected) side of the shoreline and islands for the smoothest ride.

[jetlag100]

LOL I go on the forum and look at all the webcams.....:cool:

[Old Sarge]

While out of the lake I like to use Weather Bug app on my phone, using the Laconia Municipal Airport for it's input. It will give you wind direction and speed, animated regional radar and short term forecast for storms. The ten day forcast is just OK though and changes often.

A new part of Weather Bug is "Spark Lightning" which scans the region for lightning strikes. You can see strikes close by or up to a several hundred miles away on a map and it rescans so you can actually see them heading your way. This lets you plan ahead a little!

I try to use several weather info sources for pre-planning. WMUR weather (http://www.wmur.com/weather) and the weather channel (https://weather.com/. Plymouth State University Weather Center (http://vortex.plymouth.edu/) has a good weather department and of course the National Weather Service out of Gray Maine (http://www.weather.gov/gyx/).

If you have weather radio you can also get weather alerts while on the water (http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/). NOAA Weather Radio All Hazards (NWR) is a nationwide network of radio stations broadcasting continuous weather information directly from the nearest National Weather Service office. NWR broadcasts official Weather Service warnings, watches, forecasts and other hazard information 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.


Safe Boating!

[Island Girl]

When I look at my webcam I always know that what the image is displaying is not reality. The actual waves are larger. If you go to www.rattlesnakecam.com/watch.htm (http://www.rattlesnakecam.com/watch.htm) you can scan the whole lake. If you go here http://www.rattlesnakecam.com/snakeeyesall.htm you can view the previous 40 minutes or so to get a feel for what has been going on in the broads. My rule of thumb is to look at the weather applet on the first link above. If it says N at 13 mph, NW at 13 mph, N at 13 mph, or WNW at 13 mph and above I am not going out there. This may not be the actual wind speed out on the broads, but my 15 years of watching the waves and that weather applet tell me that 13 and above from those directions are going to be very umpleasant out on the broads. I am not thrilled going out at 11 mph either. From the southern and eastern directions the fetch is much less making for bumpy but not dangerous.

We see other brave souls out there in the high winds and they get tossed around a lot. Having been caught in high trecherous winds... I like to play it safe.

IG

[Phantom]

a VHF is handy! Simply ask.

Keeping an eye towards Paugus Bay (West) works 9 out of 10 times.

Weather App's are good ... but not HIGHLY accurate!

Keeping your boat canvas handy ................ P R I C E L E S S !!!



.

[noreast]

VHF is a great answer,I can't tell you how many times I check the Laconia airport forcast, 7mph wind expected, only to find much wind and many waves when I arrive. If I have a short work day sometimes I'll pick up someone who's been hounding me to go fishing, Sometimes it's a real quick expedition.

[Ms Molly McKever]

Ask your wife,she can tell you weather can go out on your boat or weather you can't go out on your boat.

[Taz]

Look for Wind direction, north west is the worst, its cold and it creates large waves the further you go south toward Wolfeboro and Alton. NW up to 15 mph manageable. NW 20 mph or more it will be uncomfortable unless you stay on the north end of the lake, Weirs, Meredith, Center Harbor. Its ok going with a NW wind, its heading into a NW that's not fun.

[Barney Bear]

Several years ago, we left East Bear Island for a party in southern NH. No bad weather was forecast, so we came off island in our 18' boat. By the time we returned to the lake, bad weather had moved in. We headed out from Fay's Boat Yard at about 11PM. We got out beyond Locke's Island and were greeted by large waves. We returned to the boat yard and slept in our car until daylight arrived. This has happened several times during the many years we have been on Bear Island. It's not for everybody, but we sure love it. ❤️ 🐻

[MAXUM]

I never let any weather prevent me from getting to the island, but it's a darn good excuse to keep me there and spend an extra day or two ;)

[Descant]

I never let any weather prevent me from getting to the island, but it's a darn good excuse to keep me there and spend an extra day or two ;)

I agree. Most islanders go out in any weather, but they've also arranged themselves for a short commute. It's not like leaving Paugus Bay and cruising to Alton Bay for an ice cream. When you're on the island and it's blowing straight in, you have the option of walking across the island to visit friends on the lee shore.

More to the point for the OP: Your planning and reaction to weather will develop as you find favorite cruising routes and destinations. That will also develop your sense of when to raise the anchor and head home. If you are the last boat to leave the sand bar, maybe you stayed too long?

Great suggestion above about the VHF. I have one on the boat, and a portable that I keep in the house on charge. The weather stations (Wx button) give local area forecasts that are updated routinely and updated immediately when storms develop. Monitoring Channel 16, you will hear occasional announcements about significant weather phenomena.

Consider that your comfort level is different for different types of boats. I ride inside my boat, surrounded by hull, windshield, etc. A 'tooner rides on top of his boat, not so much freeboard, but perhaps a more stable ride.

Finally, listen to the weatherman. S/he will tell you, from June to September, "Hot, humid, hazy, possible thunderstorms in the afternoon."

[Phantom]

My earlier comment about VHF has three benefits

(1) Most newer radios' allow you to set "Weather Alert". This is a chime, followed by a report that breaks into any channel you may be monitoring in cases of severe weather -- i.e. Severe Thunderstorm Alerts, etc ............. Key word here is SEVERE by the Weather Bureau standards

Even when at a sand Bar, I always leave our VHF on (we monitor an off "16" channel with family & friends)

(2) If you look to the "West" and it looks real ugly, you have the option to switch to Wx or simply open "hail" for someone in that part of the Lake (don't be obnoxious - if someone doesn't answer after the second try -- give it up!)

(3) It is not uncommon for the "Mount" to issue periodic Weather Alerts over Ch 16 from data received on her onboard weather radar if a good size T-Storm is rolling in.





.




.

[thinkxingu]

Only been boatin' for a couple seasons, but we err on the side of optimistic. What I mean is that more often than not--7/9 times last summer, 11/12 times the summer before--questionable weather turns/remains acceptable. For the times it's almost certainly inevitable, we stay close to home or hang out on the beach or porch.

Sent from my XT1528 using Tapatalk

[Rich]

I always listen to the weather reports. If possibility of any storms, or events, I take special care.

I put my VHF radio on one of the weather channels and listen to the current weather report for our area.

If possibility of rain or storms, I check my radar app on my cell phone. This is great as I can often see where weather is heading (it shows a live weather loop, not just a static image like on some weather web page).

I mostly use an Android app named "RADAR NOW", it excels for this purpose.

Recently, I found one named 'MY RADAR" which is both an IOS (Apple) and Android app. I don't have a lot of time with this app, but it appears very similar to "RADAR now". But I tend to like Radar Now a bit more as it's screen is a bit less cluttered, the RADAR loop has a bit better timing, and the free version (with ads) are not as invasive as the ones on My Radar.

These apps allow you to see where storm cells are headed, so you can figure out if the rain will hit you, or not, and it can help to follow thunder storms to check if you're going to get nailed or not.

As an example, last year while anchored off Silver Sands, I was able to see that heavy rain would hammer on Govornor's Island, yet I didn't get any rain while at Silver Sands (next to MVYC).

If you have a smart phone, I suggest you get one of these apps (or both) and learn to use it along with listening to the national weather service broadcasts on the VHF radio WX channels.

Radar Now:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.usnaviguide.radar_now&hl=en

My Radar:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.acmeaom.android.myradar&hl=en

[joey2665]

[
Recently, I found one named 'MY RADAR" which is both an IOS (Apple) and Android app. I don't have a lot of time with this app, but it appears very similar to "RADAR now". But I tend to like Radar Now a bit more as it's screen is a bit less cluttered, the RADAR loop has a bit better timing, and the free version (with ads) are not as invasive as the ones on My Radar.


Radar Now:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.usnaviguide.radar_now&hl=en

My Radar:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.acmeaom.android.myradar&hl=en[/QUOTE]

I NEVER go out on the lake without the "my Radar App" I find it to be the best app on the market. Really allows you to see the cells developing so you can make early decisions.

[Merrymeeting]

I've tried several of the Android apps mentioned. But the one I've found I like the best (and even better that it has no ads!) is the NOAA Hi-Def radar app.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.weathersphere.noaa_hidef_radar&hl=en

It also appears on iTunes but there appears to be a charge.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/noaa-hi-def-radar-pro-storm/id458225159?mt=8

[Rich]

FYI.. if you don't like ads on the free apps I mentioned, you can just pay their small fee, and this shuts off the ads and adds some additional 'premium' features. Or use it for free and don't look at the ads.

Your choice! :)

It's amazing the technology that we now have access to, these are things we could only dream about back in the day when we used to watch Star-Trek and think "we'll never have that technology"! :)

[kjbathe]

I find NOAA's weather.gov to be very good. The hourly weather graphs give you temp, wind, direction, sky cover and precipitation potential in an easy to use format. Many other apps will show a single icon for the day. For example, 90% chance of rain. That's not a boating day until you realize that 90% starts at 4 PM. Lots of good boating to be had before 4 PM.

I also use the composite radar to judge storm speed and direction. Generally (generally, not always) you have a couple hours for weather to reach the lake across Vermont or from Western Mass / CT. If it's rain, that's pretty predictable. If it's thunderstorms, we tend to stay closer to home for easy lake exit and safety.

In general, winds less than 10 mph and precipitation potential less than 30% are beautiful summer days on the water. 15 mph winds can still be enjoyable but you need to find spots to hide as folks have noted above. 15-20+ MPH and we stay home.

Always keep an eye to the sky. NOAA Forecasts are really good, but they are still just modeled predictions. Paying attention to changing skies and shifting winds will help keep you safe.

[Merrymeeting]

As for wind forecasts, I started using Windfinder after several Winni sailors recommended it. I find it to be the most reliable indicator of what the day on the lake will be like.

Living on the east end of a long open stretch of water, I find that the most useful part is the gust forecast. Anything over 10 mph is usually a pretty rough day on the lake. But as noted above, it can vary during the day also.

http://www.windfinder.com/forecast/new_durham_alton

[Orion]

I personally like the Weather Underground app called Storm. I've tried a lot of them and find this one to have the most info in a very easy to understand format. It opens with a map showing the wind flow and radar and is fully customizable from there. Also shows hourly or daily graphs of all weather parameters, making it easy to see when the likely rain period begins and ends. A few bucks gets rid of any ads. Well done.