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.
Find each named coastal, offshore, bay or lake zone along the route. For inlets, bars and tidal narrows add current local notices and observations; an offshore wave forecast does not describe the entrance.
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
Check coastal zones, inlet conditions and tropical outlooks for the actual route.
A Florida Atlantic and Keys itinerary changes from open coast to inlet, reef-lined Keys and possibly the Florida Straits.
Select NOAA coastal zones for each side, NHC tropical products when relevant and current inlet notices. Wind against current can make an entrance unlike the offshore grid.
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
Miami, Florida Keys and the Straits are different forecast tasks, even on one itinerary.
Forecast sectors and coverage
Use the NWS Miami and Key West zone maps where applicable, then NHC products for an onward ocean leg. Check whether the route lies in bay-side, Atlantic-facing or straits waters; never apply one Miami point to every Keys leg.
Weather-sensitive legs
Compare offshore exposure with the actual Gulf Stream/current context and wind direction; do not turn a broad current estimate into a local approach calculation. Thunderstorm evolution also needs current official information close to departure.
Observations, sea state and reassessment
Use CO-OPS for the chosen water-level station and NDBC for available wind/wave observations. Virginia Key is a specific site, not a tide correction for every entrance or proof of conditions offshore.
Worked planning scenario — not a live forecast
For Miami toward the Keys, separate bay exit, exposed coastal leg and arrival. Compare alternatives at the open-water ETA and retain a shorter coastal plan only if the relevant approach and local restrictions have been checked.
Official products by task
- NWS Miami marine — South Florida marine entry point; check the zone map rather than applying Miami to the entire Keys.
- NWS Key West marine — Florida Keys marine entry point; distinguish bayside, straits and Atlantic-facing sectors.
- NHC marine products — Tropical Atlantic marine coverage; select the current product and its geographical limits.
- NHC tropical cyclone information — Advisories, watches/warnings and outlooks; a track cone is not the full wind or wave footprint.
- NOAA NDBC observations — Station map and timestamped buoy/coastal records; inspect sensor availability and exposure.
- NOAA Tides & Currents — Predictions and observations are separate products; choose station, timezone and datum.
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
- United States
Choose a bay, coastal, offshore, Great Lakes or ocean product for the actual track.
Departure ports & bases
- Miami
Miami: 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.
A Keys itinerary must say which side it uses
A Miami–Keys plan should identify whether each stage is in bay waters, Atlantic-facing coastal waters or the Straits. Read the responsible Miami/Key West product boundaries instead of using one continuous map colour as a forecast definition. Key West's marine desk brings together warnings, forecast messages, discussion and ocean context; the discussion explains concerns but does not replace the applicable warning text or zone forecast.
- NWS Key West marine desk — Keys warnings, marine messages, forecast discussion and ocean context.
- NWS marine zone directory — Coastal, offshore and high-seas product selection; not automatic route matching.
Thunderstorm and current checks use different evidence
Near departure, retain current short-term marine warnings and radar context alongside the longer forecast. A favourable daily average can conceal the timing relevant to the next open leg. For offshore portions also inspect the current context and wind opposition; a water-level gauge near Biscayne Bay cannot validate those offshore seas. Do not turn a missing radar frame or offshore observation into a reassuring absence of hazard.
- NWS Key West marine desk
- NWS Melbourne: Florida Current context — Current-position context; old analyses and guidance are not current measurements.
- NOAA CO-OPS Tides and Currents — Separate measured water levels, tide predictions, current predictions and model forecasts.
A Florida–Bahamas option needs a different arrival file
If the comparison includes a Bahamas crossing instead of a coastal Keys leg, add Bahamas national weather and local entrance evidence. Test the current-crossing time, landfall and daylight under slower progress; do not reuse a Florida coastal forecast for the destination. A change to an inlet or anchorage is not merely a shorter route line: check its charted access, current local advice and forecast protection separately.
- Bahamas Department of Meteorology — Official national entry point, radar and forecast links; no pass-specific current guarantee.
- NWS Key West marine desk
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.