For sailors, understanding weather conditions is essential for safe navigation. The study of weather is called meteorology. Meteorology is the science that explores all the phenomena that shape weather and climate.
These include:
Temperature and Air Pressure
The Earth’s surface is constantly exposed to solar radiation and heating. As a result, some areas heat up more than others. It is important to know that where heating is more intense, warm air rises into the atmosphere, causing air pressure to decrease. Therefore, it is logical that air pressure varies across different areas of the Earth.
Normal air pressure at sea level is 1013 mb (millibars). An isobar is a line connecting points with equal air pressure, and a group of isobars forms an isobaric field.
Cyclone
A cyclone is a low-pressure area that usually moves from west to east, bringing clouds and precipitation. From the perspective of sailors or vacationers, it means bad weather.
Anticyclone
An anticyclone is a high-pressure area. They are divided into thermal or dynamic. Thermal anticyclones form due to the cooling of the Earth’s surface (e.g., the Siberian), while dynamic ones are created by descending air (e.g., the Azores).
While cyclones travel, anticyclones expand.
Weather Forecast
For every sailor, it is important to have an onboard device for measuring pressure, which warns of a drop in air pressure and the approach of a front or cyclone.
It is also necessary to recognize clouds that signal bad weather or storms. Warnings, such as a dark cloud in the middle of stable summer weather, should be taken seriously as they indicate an approaching storm.
It is important to follow radio weather forecasts, where detailed information about weather conditions, sea forecasts, and wind conditions can be obtained through radio reports (simplex channel 69 for the N Adriatic, channel 67 for the central Adriatic, and channel 73 for the S Adriatic and Istria).
However, the best source of weather information in the Adriatic is often the local residents, who are quick to detect weather changes.
Waves
Waves are very important for safe and smooth sailing. They are generated by the wind and have their own height and length. Sailing in high waves can be very uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous, so it is necessary to adjust the course accordingly, for example, to an angle of 30 to 45 degrees relative to the direction of the waves.
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