Weather Observing Fundamentals

Begin with basic information for taking hourly weather observations, including when, where, and how to take observations onboard a ship.

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Learn how to observe wind waves and swell waves and use appropriate instruments to measure air and sea temperatures. Further instruction covers atmospheric pressure observations, including altimeter setting, pressure altitude, and density altitude, and demonstrates wind measurement using an anemometer.

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Follow our shipboard observer as he demonstrates best practices for determining cloud type, height, sky cover, and visibility. Identification and encoding of present and significant weather is also discussed.

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At higher latitudes, sea ice and ice accretion can become important concerns. Learn how to identify and encode ice types as part of your weather observation.

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Review the basics of synoptic observations and practice encoding your observations in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) FM-13 (SHIP) code format.

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Practice your cloud and weather symbol identification skills through four interactive drills. The drills provide practice recognizing the 27 States of the Sky, Visibility Obscurations, Frozen Precipitation, and Liquid Precipitation.

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