Knowing how, when and with what intensity and direction the wind blows is essential for the practice of certain sports and outdoor activities, although it can also be interesting for pure meteorological interest. Technology comes to the rescue as always and makes things very easy for us. We only have to download to our mobile phone any of the applications to know the state of the wind.
In water sports, knowing this information is basic. If we talk about windsurfing or sailing in its different modalities, the relationship with the wind is clear. But also with other specialties such as surfing, kayaking or swimming in open water, since the wind influences the waves.
Also on dry land it can be very useful on some occasions to know what the state of the wind is. If we go to fly a drone, for example, or we have scheduled a balloon excursion; or simply if we are preparing an outdoor celebration and we do not want the umbrellas or garlands to fly away. In short, there are many cases in which you will be interested in knowing this information.
For what we need, we will find specific applications on the wind together with other more general ones, focused on meteorology in general, but that can provide us with what we are looking for. This is our selection, five apps that will be of great help to us:
Windfinder
We open our list with an app well known to lovers of sailing: Windfinder. With it, we will have precise global forecasts for wind, weather, tides and waves on our smartphone. With XNUMX% reliable information.
It is a free resource (there is a Pro version that costs $12,99) and easy to use. It offers real-time wind and weather measurements from 21.000 weather stations around the world. On the screen we can see an animated and updated wind map at all times, with measurements expressed in knots, Beaufort, mph, km/hym/s.
In addition to the speed and direction of the wind, it also informs us about the air temperature, the presence of clouds, the air pressure, the height and direction of the waves, as well as the risk of precipitation. Everything we need to know.
predict wind
predict wind It takes up-to-date information from more than 20.000 weather stations around the world to design its sophisticated proprietary forecast models, with a very high degree of accuracy. If you are looking for reliable information about the wind, you will be hard-pressed to find a better tool than this.
Using forecasts about wind, waves, rain, and air and water temperatures, Predict Wind becomes our best sailing partner. However, everything that it offers us is practically oriented towards nautical activities. If we are looking for an app to see the state of the wind because we want to fly a kite or go paragliding, perhaps it will be better to look for another option.
AccuWeather
Within our list of applications to see the state of the wind, we must include this powerful weather forecast tool: AccuWeather.
What this application offers us is a very accurate weather forecast that includes all the factors and aspects that may interest us, with a high degree of detail. All this is reflected in magnificent weather maps in which the wind (direction, strength, time, etc.) is just one of many variations.
Always hand in hand with the latest updated information, this app allows us to prepare all our activities based on the weather conditions that we are going to find. Very complete and very useful.
Windy
Perhaps some users miss more complementary information related to the weather in general, but if the only thing that interests us is the state of the wind, Windy it is an invaluable resource that gives us exactly what we ask for.
To use it, we just have to choose an observation station (public or private) that is close to our location and take a look at the data it provides us. They are represented in a circular graph under which there is a bar that we can move to see the forecast within one or several hours. The information on the intensity, direction and temperature of the wind is expressed in colors in a very visual way.
It should also be noted as a positive point that it is a free app and free of advertising.
Wind Compass
Our latest proposal for applications to find out the state of the wind is a practical "wind compass" to orient ourselves in our outdoor activities. Wind Compass It allows us to get the latest weather updates for any location, easily and accurately.
The readings offered by this app are totally reliable, so we can count on it to go sailing with guarantees, schedule a picnic, a road trip or a bike tour, for example. In addition to all this, the application also gives us useful information about sunrise and sunset, the temperature or the rain. And with interesting customization options.
