The Weather

Weather-conditions have a great influence on the safety during a voyage and should
always be taken into consideration in voyage-planning and when underway.
The state of the atmosphere is determined by various meteorological elements, such as
temperature, humidity, cloudiness and fog, forms of precipitation, barometric pressure,
and speed and direction of wind. All these elements may be referred to as "the weather".

Temperature
Any change in temperature is significant in weather-forecasting. When measuring
temperatures three different scales can be used:
- the scientifically used Kelvin-scale, also referred to as the absolute scale;
- the commonly used Celsius-scale, which measures a temperature in centigrades;
- the obsolete Fahrenheit-scale.

Humidity
Humidity refers to the amount of water vapour in the air.
Warm air is capable to contain a higher grade of moisture, or humidity, than cold air.
The maximum amount of moisture that air can hold at a specific temperature is known as
"saturation".
Most clouds are the result of a rising mass of cool air.
When the temperature of air falls, water vapour in the air will condense into droplets of
ice crystals, thus forming clouds or fog.

Cloudiness
Clouds very often indicate an imminent change of weather.
Rising clouds is an indication that the weather is about to clear; lowering or thickening
clouds will indicate precipitation.
The main types of clouds are the high cirrus clouds, the layered stratus clouds and the
huge and massive cumulus clouds. "Alto" stands for high, and "Nimbus" means rain.
The presence of cirrus clouds may be a warning for an approaching storm.
The low-hanging stratus clouds indicate unstable weather.
The altocumulus clouds may precede adverse weather.

Fog
Fog is a cloud that touches the ground.
Dense fog will reduce visibility considerably and is referred to as "thick weather".
By this is meant any type of weather-condition that will reduce visibility considerably,
whether by fog, snow, rain, dust haze or any other circumstance.

Precipitation
Precipitation is formed when the droplets or ice crystals in clouds have become
sufficiently large to fall to the ground.
Precipitation may take a variety of forms, for example rain, snow, drizzle, hail or sleet.
Wind
Wind is the most important factor that determines the condition of the weather.
Wind is merely an amount of air that moves in a horizontal motion over the earth from
an area of high barometric pressure towards an area of low barometric pressure.
Falling barometric pressure generally indicates that a gale or storm is approaching;
rising pressure indicates the approach or continuation of fair weather.
An area of low pressure is called a cyclone. A high-pressure area is an anti-cyclone.
Because of the rotation of the earth, the circulations of winds in the northern hemisphere
tend to be clockwise around areas of high pressure, and anti-clockwise around low-
pressure areas.
In the southern hemisphere the directions of circulation are the opposite. Wind is always
named after the direction it is coming from, not blowing in.
Its force is indicated by the Beaufort-scale numbers. These numbers, ranging from zero to
force 12, refer to the wind-speed measured in nautical miles per hour.
For the navigator the wind direction and force are the most important aspects
of meteorological conditions that are forecast in weather reports by weather stations.
Information must always include an increase or decrease in force and
any change in wind-direction.
A change of direction is usually indicated by the terms veering" and "backing".
A veering wind changes in a clockwise direction.
A backing wind changes in anti-clockwise direction.

Weather Forecast
A weather forecast for seafarers offers a survey of weather conditions that may be
expected in certain places, sea areas and in vicinities of coastal stations within the next 24
hours. A weather forecast is broadcast in radio bulletins and should be monitored by the
navigator and transferred to the Weather Forecast Information Sheet.

This Weather Forecast Information Sheet must be made available to all bridge-personnel
and
studied regularly and closely in order to determine short-range weather conditions and
visibility.
The sheet consists of three parts:
- in the "General Synopsis" information is given about barometric pressure, position and
movement
of a depression or anti-cyclone;
- in the "Forecast for Sea Areas" information is given about wind, weather conditions and
visibility.
The presence of a gale is indicated by a "tick" in the column "gales";
- in "Reports from Coastal Stations" information is given about wind, weather conditions,
visibility
and atmospheric pressure.
When the ships starboard and port sides rise and fail with the waves, the vessel is
a).pitching b).yawing c). rolling d). swaying

when her stem and stern rise and fall with the waves, the vessel is pitching
- when her bow is pushed to starboard and then to port, the vessel is yawing
- when the whole ship rises and falls back into a trough, she is heaving
when the ship is pushed forward by the waves and sinks back into a trough, she is
surging
- when the whole ship moves bodily to starboard and then to port, she is swaying

Tropical cyclones: categories and damage (Saffir/Simpson Scale)

Tropical cyclones may occur in the northern hemisphere and in the southern hemisphere.
The names by which they are known vary with the areas they originate from.
The most notorious tropical cyclones, with wind speeds of 64 knots and over, are the
Hurricane in the
North Atlantic and Eastern Pacific, the Typhoon in the Western North Pacific, the
Cyclone in the
Southwest Pacific and the Willy-Willy in the Australian Area.

The Saffir/Simpson Scale subdivides the tropical cyclones into 5 categories according to
wind-force and corresponding damages that are caused.

Saffir/Simpson Scale
Category Wind speed Damage
one 64 - 83 knots minimal
two 84- 96 knots moderate
three 97-113 knots extensive
four 114 - 135 knots extreme
five 135 knots and over catastrophic

Sea State
By "sea" (or "seaway") is meant the waves that are formed by wind in a "generating
area",
that is: the area where the waves are being formed.
Waves that have travelled out of this generating area are referred to as "swell".
Height of waves depends on the prevailing wind force, how long the wind has been
blowing, current and
fetch.Sea-state codes are used to indicate to the mariner what the sea will look like.
The codes range from 0 to 9 and correspond with a wave-height in metres.
Ice
Shipping may be impeded by all forms of ice, ranging from a total freeze-over to ice floes
and icebergs. New ice and Nilas (an elastic crust of ice) are quite soft and pliable forms
of ice that will hardly cause any damage to sea-going vessels. Care must be taken that
water inlets will not become obstructed. Young ice and first-year ice are thicker and
tougher and can be recognised by their grey-white or milky-white colour, Icebreaker
assistance will often be necessary to ride up the ice and form an opening. After one year
the ice will take a greenish appearance.
When the colour of the ice is green-blue, we are dealing with old ice (2 or more years of
age), which is extremely hard and dangerous to navigation.
Pancake ice, ice cakes and icefloes are flat pieces of ice 30 cm to 20 m in diameter.
Floebergs and Floebits are massive pieces of sea ice. Growlers, Bergy bits and Icebergs
are enormous pieces of floating ice with a thickness of 10 cm to many metres. Icebergs
are notorious for their submarine ledges that may extend to great distances from their
visible parts, which constitute not more than 10% of their total volumes.

Tides

Tides are mainly caused by the gravitational pull of the moon.

This attraction-force causes the waters to swell out towards the moon in a high tide.
At the same time, on the far side of the earth, the moon's attraction is at its weakest and
the waters on that side will swell away from the moon in an equal and opposite high tide.
Within the 24-hour-period two high tides arise, with two low tides in between them.
The sun has a gravitational effect on the earth, too. The effect of the sun's gravity on the
tides is
approximately half of that of the moon because the sun is at a far greater distance from
the earth.
Every other week, at new and full moon, when the sun and the moon are both in line with
the earth, the two gravitational forces are added together, and exceptionally strong tides,
called Spring-tides, are produced. In the weeks that lie in between, when the sun and the
moon are at 90 degrees to each other,at the first and third quarters of the moon, the pull of
the sun will cancel out half of the moon's gravitational effect, and weak tides, called Neap
tides, will occur.
This theoretical pattern does not occur in every part of the world.
The shape of a continent may prevent water from flowing uninterruptedly across the
surface of the planet, and this has complex effects on the regularity of tides. In some
places there are four high tides within 24 hours, while only one high tide and one low tide
a day in other areas.
There are places on the ocean's surfaces where all the tidal forces cancel each other out.
In restricted areas the tides may be almost imperceptible, while in other areas enormous
ranges - differences between high and low tides - may occur.
Tides are measured from chart datum, and levels are always given at average (mean)
heights. The Lowest Astronomical Tide (LAT) is the lowest tide that has ever been
recorded in that area. Highest high tides and lowest low tides are called Spring tides.
Highest low tides and lowest high tides are called Neap tides. When the tide is turning we
speak of Slack tide.
So, at Low Slack the tide is about to rise; at High Slack the tide is about to fall.
This latter tide is especially important to the mariner, since it is the best tide to leave and
proceed to open sea.