Forecasting Local Wind Phenomena for Ocean Safety (“Pirajá”)
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Hello Windy team,
First of all, thank you for the excellent platform.
I am part of a Polynesian canoe club in southern Bahia, in northeastern Brazil. We regularly perform coastal crossings, sometimes navigating up to 3 km away from the shoreline.
Because of this, we have a strong interest in forecasting local wind phenomena known in our region as “Pirajá”. These are localized gusty or thermal wind events that can rapidly change sea conditions and directly affect navigation safety.
For ocean paddlers, small boats and traditional coastal communities, these local effects are often more important than the average wind forecast itself.
Are there any plans to improve the prediction of local coastal wind behavior or micro-scale atmospheric effects in future versions of Windy?
Thank you very much for your work and for listening to the community.
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Olá! Weather models are not created by Windy but by governmental organizations, then presented by Windy and others. Indeed, none but 50km low-resolution models are available in your region (too many motorboats there! 😊). Anyway, I wouldn't trust any computerized model prediction about a sudden local phenomenon: I was using a radar (my own) over there to take a urgent reef (not an option for you, I know)...
If you are north of Salvador, Windy is displaying Brazilian weather radars (see below). In Salvador, and in wonderful Baía de Todos os Santos, there is no working radar that I know of.
For those interested, a good story (pt-br) about Pirajá here.
