An essential pocket-sized primer that equips sailors (and other outdoors people) with the knowledge to read and predict the weather.
Weather determines when we sail, where we sail to – and whether we arrive safely. This essential pocket-sized guide, now revised for its third edition, provides the reader with all the necessary tools to predict and deal with local and distant weather conditions, whether on a day trip or a longer cruise, along the coast or further offshore.
Each topic is broken down into digestible chapters, explaining the origins and effects of the full spectrum of weather conditions, including: - using and evaluating weather forecasts - depressions, fronts, isobars and other coastal effects - waves and swell - weather lore and sky watching.
Meteorology is still advancing and sources of forecasts are changing. This new edition keeps the handbook up-to-date, with a particular focus on using computer weather products, satellite phones and the changes in the availability of forecasts and there will be new sections on the effects of climate changes and Coriolis.
With practical explanations and helpful diagrams and photographs, this is the ideal aide-memoire for skippers and crew, especially those studying for their Day Skipper and Yachtmaster exams.
By:
Frank Singleton
Imprint: Reeds
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Edition: 3rd edition
Dimensions:
Height: 160mm,
Width: 100mm,
Spine: 10mm
Weight: 140g
ISBN: 9781399422734
ISBN 10: 1399422731
Series: Reeds Handbooks
Pages: 144
Publication Date: 05 May 2026
Audience:
General/trade
,
ELT Advanced
Format: Paperback
Publisher's Status: Active
Introduction Air masses -Understanding air masses -Air directly from polar regions -Air indirectly from polar regions -Air from the subtropics -Tropical air -Air mass with a land track -Fog -Sea fog areas -Other causes of sea fog -Showers and thunderstorms -Lightning -Lightning protection -Avoiding the risk -Other dangers of thunderstorms Fronts and depressions -Frontal lows and their formation -What you may see at sea level -Occluded fronts -Interpretation of synoptic charts -Non-frontal lows Sea and land effects -How breezes are formed -The sea breeze front -What affects the sea breeze? -Land breezes -Sea/land breeze cycles -How strong? How far out to sea? How far inland? -Cliffs, straits and headlands Waves and swell -Understanding sea state -Wind waves -Swell -Water depth and tidal stream -Reflection and refraction -Sea state – general advice -Lagoon, bay and seiche effects -Tsunamis Weather forecasting – the background -Why weather prediction is so difficult -Before computers -Numerical weather prediction (NWP) -Limitations to NWP -Ensembles and probability forecasts -Grid spacing -Small-scale NWP Using forecasts – and your experience -Planning -Weather and whether to go? -Day sailing and coastal passages -Passage making -Examples -Learning by experience -Ocean crossings Sources of weather information -Types of marine forecast available -The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System (GMDSS) -Forecast areas and schedules -Forecast texts -Other GMDSS services -GRIB files and products -Basic (free) services -Processed or selected GRIB data -Fine-scale GRIB data -On prepayment -Consultants -Actual weather reports Getting forecasts -Radio or internet? -Marine VHF and MF -NAVTEX -MF/HF/SSB radio -The internet -Internet access – coastal and ashore -Internet access – long range Observing – learning by experience -Weather lore and rules of thumb Nowcasting -Examples of unusual cloud patterns -Mountain waves -Bora cloud -Mammatus cloud Appendix -Acronyms and abbreviations -Meteorological terms -Terms used in marine weather forecasts -Beaufort wind scale -Douglas sea state -Gale and strong wind warnings -Wind direction -Visibility -Terms used in UK Met Office forecasts -Gale warning timings -Movement of pressure systems -Pressure tendency in station reports -Sources of information Index
Frank Singleton is a former Senior Forecaster with the Met Office and is an RYA Yachtmaster with over 50,000 miles under his keel, mainly on the family Hallberg-Rassy 34. He has cruised widely in European and Mediterranean waters and enjoyed 10 Caribbean charter holidays. His weather website for sailors (weather.mailasail.com/Franks-Weather) is known worldwide as an extensive, informed and informative resource for all sea-goers. He has given many lectures to sailors, especially for the Cruising Association and the Royal Yachting Association.
Reviews for Reeds Weather Handbook 3rd edition: The comprehensive pocket guide
...an excellent series of handbooks on various aspects of weather * International Journal of Meteorology (review of 2nd edition) * An excellent practical book to have on board, and especially useful for those studying for their RYA examinations. * The Cruising Association (review of 2nd edition) * lots of fascinating information about weather lore and sky watching. ...an excellent aide memoire for skippers and crew. * Welsh Coastal Life (review of 2nd edition) * full of practical information and vivid illustrations * Hardy Boat Owners Magazine (review of 2nd edition) * Reeds Weather Handbook For Sail and Power is a little book but it packs a big punch and can truly be called a ‘comprehensive pocket guide’, showing how observation, common sense and experience can help us understand how the weather will affect our lives. * Towpath Talk (review of 2nd edition) * a small, but mighty book. ... a practical explanation of a complex, but essential subject for all sailors * Cruising (review of 2nd edition) * I would certainly be happy to pop it into my pocket when I am sailing as a quick reference and a book to dip into for enjoyable snippets on the weather, and would thoroughly recommend it for someone going to sea. * Weather (review of 2nd edition) *
