Not all forecast models are created equal ❄️
On Windy, models like ECMWF cover massive areas of the globe, that's a global model. Models like ICON-EU, HRRR or MSM only cover a specific region, that's a local model. They'll appear depending on where you're looking on the map.
Not sure which is which? Here's the easiest way to tell:
→ Zoom out. The coverage area makes it obvious.
→ See that distance figure next to the model name? Smaller = more local. Bigger = more global.
🌍 Global models (ECMWF) → big picture, large-scale systems moving across continents
🏔 Local models (ICON-EU, AROME) → finer resolution, better at reading complex terrain like mountains, valleys and coastlines
For snow depth in the mountains, global models can smooth over sharp elevation changes. Local models fill in those gaps — and the difference can be significant.
So next time you're planning a ski trip or a summit push, try switching between models.
Which model do you check the most? 👀
Everyone is talking about a Super El Niño. Here’s what the data actually shows right now.
A subsurface Kelvin wave is currently moving across the Pacific, carrying water ~5°C above normal at 150m depth.
NOAA’s models now put the probability of El Niño developing by early summer at over 60%, with a ~25% chance it reaches Super strength by year-end.
We’ll be watching every data update as it comes in. Swipe to see what this could mean for you. 👉
Are you chasing big swell this week? These are the spots worth checking. 📍👀
Secret tip 🤫 download The Buoy plugin on Windy.com to check how big the waves actually are. You can even compare the buoys observations with the forecast.
Flying...can I find words to describe such a freedom?
Yes, but it will need a poem...who will read it? Better watch and listen.
#paragliding
#flying #soaring #freedom #glacier
When you’re living by the water, the forecast isn’t a “nice to have” it’s the whole plan for the day.
Sailors all over the world rely on Windy to read the conditions before they leave the dock. Drop a pin anywhere on the map, check the arrows, and you can see exactly how the wind, swell and waves are going to behave: direction, strength, timing, everything in one view.
Wind, waves, gusts, tides, currents, every layer a sailor actually needs, in one app. 🌊
Got a Windy story from your own passage? Tag us, we love sharing them.
And now for Round 2. Spike tries to make sense of the carnage Neptune is about to unleash on the SW Cape, with the mayhem going east next week, but more in the form of a normal ripping winter SW buster, and less of the flood and disaster management brought by the cutoff low there.
#spikesurfreport #wavescape #weekendweather #capetown #severeweather
This is the route: From Europe to the Caribbean 🏝️
I’ll follow the trade winds for weeks, maybe months.
Adapting to whatever the ocean gives.
Some days will go well, others won’t.
An entire ocean crossing, step by step.
Every kilometer has to be earned and will be officially tracked.
Follow @koendarras to see how this unfolds 🌊
More updates coming soon.
Europe just had one of its driest years since 1992 and wildfire emissions hit a record.
That’s the new European State of the Climate 2025 (Copernicus + WMO).
🔥 35% of Europe in extreme drought in May
💧 70% of rivers below average
🌫 Spain’s highest wildfire emissions on record
Drought and fire feed each other: heatwaves dry vegetation, storm tracks shifted south bring less rain, and what ignites burns hotter.
Swipe to the end to see what to check when the forecast tips dry and hot weather.
Save this post for the heatwave season. 🌤️
I’ve dreamed of crossing an ocean for as long as I can remember. Now it’s time to do it 🤟
I’ve been thinking about this project for years.
On January 3, 2027, it officially begins.
It might still seem far away, but for the team and myself, it’s already very close.
Behind the scenes, we’re working hard to make this happen. Step by step, everything is coming together and I really want to take you along in that journey✨
A 5,000 km crossing, from the Canary Islands to the Caribbean. 8 to 12 hours on the water. Every single day, 100 to 150 km… again and again. What an adventure and I’m realy looking forward to it.
Some days will go well, others won’t.
Follow @koendarras for more updates about the crossing
Website Atlantic Crossing by Kitesurf 🌊 > Link in bio
This is only the beginning 😳
2025 wasn’t just hot on land. 86% of the European ocean experienced at least ‘strong’ marine heatwave conditions, the highest share on record. The whole Mediterranean has been in marine heatwave territory three years running.
Data: ESOTC 2025 / Copernicus Climate Change Service / World Meteorological Organisation
Yesterday at 4:53pm local time, a M7.7 earthquake struck off Japan’s Sanriku coast, the same stretch of Pacific coastline that was devastated in 2011.
Japan’s Meteorological Agency has since issued a rare megaquake advisory: the probability of a M8.0+ event in the next week is now 1%, compared to a normal baseline of 0.1%. That’s a 10× increase, enough for an official government alert to 182 municipalities from Hokkaido to Chiba.
Several JMA Wave Advisories were issued along the coast following the event. You can see them live right now in Windy’s Weather Warnings layer.
Swipe to understand what happened and what the data shows. 👆
