We all know what happens when there’s an extreme weather alert on land: Smartphones start making a racket, buzzing at a decibel level that’s impossible to ignore as they alert us about a tornado warning or a fast-incoming blizzard squall or whatever else Mother Nature might be hurling at us.
Now, PredictWind is introducing mobile alerts for extreme weather forecasts at sea. The notifications will be based on all extreme-weather forecasts issued by the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System, or GMDSS.
While land-based alerts are typically based on a smartphone’s current location, the PredictWind extreme weather alerts will be tied to a sailor’s saved locations. Sailors can enable the alerts in the “forecast alerts” section of their PredictWind account on the website, in the app and in the offshore app for basic, standard and pro users.
What is GMDSS? The GMDSS is an internationally recognized distress and radio communication safety system that has been in place for several decades. It’s automated ship-to-shore and ship-to-ship system that uses satellites and terrestrial radio systems with digital selective calling. These systems inform vessels of navigation hazards and weather conditions, and enable distress calls with location and identification information included.
How the PredictWind alerts work: GMDSS forecasts are written text forecasts prepared by meteorologists in designated regions. PredictWind collects and compiles every forecast worldwide, plotting weather systems and warning regions onto an interactive map. This approach gives sailors a global overview of the GMDSS forecast, including extreme weather patterns worldwide.
Sailors can look at the interactive map to identify extreme weather that’s approaching near them. Clicking on any alert icon will reveal detailed forecast information, including the full text report from the GMDSS meteorologists.
Are there other PredictWind Alerts? Yes. Sailors can select parameters for notifications about any combination of wind speed, wind direction, wave height, tides, rainfall, cloud cover, temperature and pressure. Users also can add parameters to specify the time for alerts, anywhere from five days out to “holy cow it’s happening right now.” The various combinations of alerts can be set for different destinations, too.
For more information: visit predictwind.com.
