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.
Resolve the exact named coastal and offshore forecast sectors before crossing a national boundary. Island lee, headland acceleration and a narrow channel can differ from a broad Mediterranean model cell.
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
A short island hop can still cross an exposed gap or headland.
Between Dalmatian islands, distinguish the outer-coast leg from a sheltered channel and its next exposed cape.
Read DHMZ Adriatic warnings for the exact sector, including bora or jugo situations; look for local station evidence before treating the lee as representative.
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.
Local passage-planning dossier
An island-hopping itinerary needs one arrival assessment for every stop, not one forecast for Split.
Forecast sectors and coverage
Use DHMZ sea-area warnings for the actual part of the Adriatic and retain the valid period. A Split city forecast neither identifies the full coastal forecast sector nor resolves conditions on the far side of an island.
Weather-sensitive legs
Separate sheltered between-island legs from the passages that open to the wider Adriatic. Check gusts near topography, the sea direction at capes and whether a promised refuge remains protected after the forecast shift.
Observations, sea state and reassessment
Compare observations with the same-hour marine text; a delayed observation cannot establish current conditions. Inspect approach exposure independently of the offshore model wave height.
Worked planning scenario — not a live forecast
On a three-stop day, assign ETAs and next forecast checks to all stops. If the second stop is missed, identify the last point at which the third remains a practical option, including daylight and the crew’s endurance.
Official products by task
- DHMZ Adriatic marine forecast — Adriatic warnings and marine text; verify the subarea and valid period.
Sector names help you locate the issuing product; they are not an automatic route-coverage match. Open the current issue and check boundaries, issue time and validity. This page does not display current warnings; an unavailable product does not mean no hazard.
Countries & territories
- Croatia
Northern Adriatic, Dalmatian channels and open crossings are separate weather tasks.
Departure ports & bases
- Split
Split: a departure-source desk, not a generic city forecast.
Build your passage brief
Bring your route, leg timings, vessel and crew profile, checked sources and reassessment triggers into the brief. Personal AI analysis and expert review are available to invited closed-test participants; a port page does not extend the calculation service’s coverage.
A Sailing Weather editorial guide to local conditions, practical passage preparation and marine-weather sources. Source and structure review: 27 September 2026. For a specific passage, check current issues, validity and forecast coverage. The skipper retains the final decision and responsibility.
Inner and outer island plans
A Split–Brač–Hvar–Vis example contains different exposures even when the distances look comparable. Enter the actual island sides and headings, not only the port names. Moving toward the outer islands changes the time spent away from the mainland and the available fallback sequence. Use the current DHMZ warning locality and the route's named sea area; the Split land forecast is only supplementary context.
- DHMZ marine forecast for small craft — Adriatic warnings, synopsis and sea-state terminology
Check the approach before choosing the stop
For each island stop, compare the forecast wave direction with the mouth of the arrival bay and the preceding cape. A stop selected under one direction should be reviewed after a forecast turn, even if total wind speed falls. Consult the hydrographic and harbour information for restrictions or changed marks independently; a weather layer cannot establish clear access, anchoring permission or charted depth.
- DHMZ marine forecast for small craft
- Croatian Hydrographic Institute — Official charts, publications and navigational-warning entry point Direct product verification is limited; obtain the current issue from the issuer.
Missed-stop scenario
Write a specific plan for a delayed first stop: the revised ETA at the next exposed gap, the next forecast issue needed and the last independently checked shorter option. This prevents the charter schedule from silently overriding the weather brief. If observations are available only at the departure coast, label the unsupported outer-island portion explicitly. Model detail can improve the picture but should not be presented as a substitute for that missing measurement.
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.