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Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Weather App for your iPad and iNavX



In traveling around the world, most sailors think of the weather a lot when making passage.  There are various methods to obtain that weather and I'm presenting here Weather 4D.
Whats so interesting for me is that it is another iApp which works on the iPad and is integrated with one of my favourite navigation software iNavX. Not only that, the details of that weather can be obtained by email.
Without further ado, i_Marine apps has a review which can be found here. I've started his review for you with the most pertinent details, but do go over to i_Marine apps to read his full review.

If you spend anytime on the water you become very aware of the weather. I am always looking for tools to help me keep safe while on the water. Weather4D Pro will help even the novice become a professional weatherman. This app brings all the weather you will ever want into one app and allows you to display and analyze weather patterns and systems all over the world. The app's intuitive interface will make it easy to get the latest weather for your area and see predictions up to 8 days out.
 Olivier Bouyssou is the mastermind and developer of the Weather4D PRO app.  He has recently updated it to a Pro model. Version 1.1.1 just came out February 5th and is jam packed with tons of new features and upgrades your going to love.

I previously reviewed the Weather4D app last April and have used it some over the summer. This version seems to be more targeted towards the nautical user who wants to do weather routing on longer passages across the worlds oceans. The integration and importing of GPS routes into the display allows this. If you don't need these routing features purchase Weather4D. Additional GRIB file options of importing, copying, saving and opening in other programs gives you more flexibility to use the weather files. You can also retrieve GRIB files via the Iridium AxcessPoint app with a satellite phone (and other email methods).

Weather  Data Features:
Cloud cover
CAPE (Convective Available Potential Energy)
Snow, Rain
Pressure
Wind direction and speed (10 meters above ground)
Temperature (2 meters above ground)
Waves, height, direction and period

Forecast Models Features:
Up to 8 day forecast
Data intervals 3, 12, 24hr
Global Coverage
Resolution .5, 1 and 2 degrees
Data updated every 6 hours

Display Features: 
GRIB file import in .rgb,grb.gz, Grb.bz2
Share GRIB files through the Open In" feature
Worldwide weather
Zonal setup
Temperature color transparency overlays
Isobar transparency overlays
Wind color and transparency overlays
Precipitation amount overlay
Adjustable cloud cover transparency
Wave transparency overlays
Download GRIB files through Iridium phones
Prediction passage of Iridium satellites
Request GRIB files with SailDocs by mail
Import of KML route files from iNavX for display on the forecasts

I ran the app on my iPad and I have to say the bigger screen makes it easier to see all the great features. The main displays is rich is color and detail and it provides the user a wealth of information.
Continued on i_Marine apps ...........