This is a pre-passage source and decision desk, not a current forecast or clearance to depart. The map is centred approximately on the area, not on your route or a forecast-zone boundary.
Distinguish an island or coastal bulletin from the wider METAREA text and its validity window. Long passages need a reliable method to obtain refreshed warnings offshore; a saved app screen is not one.
1. Primary sources
Open current bulletins and warnings for every sea area on the route. These links are starting points, not a promise that each covers the whole location; if unsure, identify the issuer through WMO–IMO.
2. Route and local effects
Use the current issuing authority and warnings for the specific offshore sector.
The Arabian Sea extends far beyond any one national coastal forecast, so break a passage at forecast-area boundaries.
For the Indian side use IMD Arabian Sea bulletin; elsewhere confirm the METAREA issuer. Consider seasonal monsoon state, swell and tropical-system alerts without treating a model as a warning.
How to use this source set
Start with the warning, then the marine text for the exact named area. If the route crosses a zone boundary, obtain both bulletins. Note issue and valid times, wind units and the meaning of wave height. Where a link opens an agency portal, navigate to its current marine product; a homepage is not itself a forecast.
Compare with an exposed station or buoy if available. Check its position and observation time: a sheltered station does not overturn a warning for an open channel. If a bulletin is missing or stale, identify the issuing service via WMO–IMO and defer the decision until current information is available.
Before-passage check
- Mark departure, exposed legs, arrival and feasible diversions; find the responsible named marine areas for each.
- Check warnings, issue and valid times; assess conditions when you expect to reach each leg, not only at departure.
- Compare wind and gusts, waves and swell, visibility, thunderstorms and local effects; do not infer a strait from a sheltered harbour.
- Compare recent observations where available, noting their time and exposure; a mismatch calls for another check.
- Set the next bulletin check, a reassessment trigger, an alternative and a backup communication channel.
Model map — optional
Windy is a third-party model display, not the issuer of official warnings. Choose a layer and check its valid hour and model run. Nothing loads until you click.
Without JavaScript, open the map separately.
If connectivity fails
Before departure, save the current official text bulletin and warning with issue time. Arrange another way to receive updates, such as an appropriate coastal broadcast, NAVTEX or satellite channel. A saved map cannot replace new warnings.
How to choose weather tools · All sailing areas
Scope: Source list assembled 25 September 2026; check its freshness and coverage before use. This public area guide is not a current personalised forecast, navigational notice service or safety verdict. Personalised forecasts with AI and experts are in closed testing; public booking is not open. The skipper makes the decision.
Read the named subdivision and time basis
The IMD sea-area bulletin distinguishes northwestern, northeastern, west-central, east-central, southwestern and southeastern Arabian Sea sections, plus Lakshadweep and Maldives areas. Select the sections actually intersected by the route and check any within-section coordinates in the current text. Its issue label and UTC validity are separate information; do not confuse an Indian local issue time with the beginning of the forecast window or a website's loading time.
- IMD Arabian Sea area bulletin — Named Arabian Sea subdivisions and Maldives/Lakshadweep; issue and validity have separate time labels
Monsoon context is not a whole-passage prediction
A seasonal wind description helps explain exposure but does not predict the wind at every future ETA. Carry the current synopsis, warning, gust and visibility statements into each route segment, and compare swell separately where available. An ocean arrival may outlast the displayed bulletin's validity. Mark that unsupported later portion rather than extrapolating one marine issue across a multi-day passage.
Plan the offshore source hand-off
Use WMO–IMO to identify the issuing service and obtain authoritative updates for every later sector or coastal approach. Compare departure options with the next update opportunity, crew endurance and arrival exposure, not a single route-average wind. If a tropical-system bulletin changes, re-evaluate the entire affected leg and fallback plan. This desk does not supply a cyclone-avoidance route or an automatic clearance based on model agreement.
- WMO–IMO marine warnings and issuer directory — METAREA service selection; website can have delayed or interrupted products
- IMD Arabian Sea area bulletin
Editorial review of this material: 27 September 2026. This date concerns the page content; check current forecast issue times and validity at the original sources.