How to get your first reading in five minutes
Open the instrument, pick a place, set your working height and your own limit, choose an hour, read the main numbers and freeze a record, all without an account.
ON THIS PAGE
Steps
Open the instrument
Go to /app. Your browser may ask to share your location. The instrument starts at your last place, your location if you allow it, or Clonmel after about four seconds. With nothing stored it opens on the Golf preset: 10 m, mph, a limit of 8 mph and the Golf tab. The text Reading the wind. shows while the forecast loads.
Pick a place
Click the box that reads Search a place in the top bar and type at least two letters. Choose a result with the mouse, or with the arrow keys and Enter. Or click the Use my location button beside it.
Tip: Choosing a place clears any route points and the hour you had selected.
Choose a persona
Open the Persona preset menu and pick Crane, Drone, Spray, Marine, Golf, Wind ops, Motorsport or Event. It sets a starting height, unit and limit for you, so do this before the next two steps.
Set your working height
Use the Height stepper to set the height in metres. You can click the plus and minus buttons (5 m at a time) or type any value from 2 to 300. Wind changes with height, so use the height your work actually happens at.
Type your limit
Enter your own limit in the Limit field, from a manufacturer's document or method statement. If you have none, leave it showing set limit. The instrument never fills one in for you, apart from the placeholders on the Spray and Golf presets.
Pick an hour
Click or drag along the time strip, whose label is Forecast hour (site time), or use the left and right arrow keys. The strip starts at the current hour, and the readout and map follow the hour you choose.
Read the main numbers
The large number is the primary forecast wind at your height in your unit. Beneath it you see the direction, a line for the 10 m gust, and P(>limit) with a percentage once a limit is set. A lamp word, GO, WATCH, STOP, UNKNOWN or NO LIMIT, sits at the top of the panel.
Freeze a record if you need one
Click Freeze record in the panel. It writes a permanent copy of what you are looking at and copies its link to your clipboard.
01Reading the main wind number
The big number is the primary model's wind at your working height, in the unit you selected, with a caption such as m/s at 80 m. Under it, direction is written as for example FROM 270° · BLOWS ENE: the first part is where the wind comes from in degrees true, the second is the compass point it is heading towards. The next line gives the GUST 10 m figure, which is always the 10 m gust because the models define gusts only at that height. If a value cannot be read, you see a dash and the word UNKNOWN with a reason, not a zero. See what the big number means.
02What P(>limit) means
Once you set a limit, the right-hand side of the readout shows P(>limit) as a percentage, for example P(>8 mph) 25%. It is the fraction of ensemble members, from three forecast ensembles, that sit at or above your limit at the chosen hour. It is a raw count, not a calibrated probability, so read it as how much the forecasts disagree about your limit. When the figure reaches 40% the word EXCEED appears beside it. With no limit it reads P(>limit) · set your limit. See how to read P(>limit).
03Why height matters
The models publish wind at 10, 80, 120 and 180 m. Between those levels the instrument interpolates on a logarithmic height scale, so a jib at 45 m and a drone at 100 m get different numbers from the same run. Below 10 m or above 180 m the value is extrapolated with a log law and the instrument labels it EXTRAPOLATED in the desktop profile panel. The height stepper accepts 2 to 300 m. See why the number changes with height.
04Entering your limit
The Limit field is blank until you fill it, and the stepper shows set limit. It accepts 0 to 60 in m/s and 0 to 130 in the other units, and it follows the unit menu: typing 10 in m/s and switching to mph converts the display, and the value stays the same. Without a limit there is no lamp reading beyond NO LIMIT, no exceedance odds and no line on the fan. The limit must come from your own document; the instrument only compares the forecast to it. See set your limit.
05Freezing a record
Freeze record posts the packet you are viewing: place, hour, height, limit, wind figures, ensemble results, nearest observation and sources. The result is a public link that opens at /b/ followed by a ten-character id, and the same entry is added to your Records page on this device. You do not need an account to freeze, though a signed-in account without an active plan may be refused while paid plans are enforced. See how to freeze a record.
06Where to go next
Once the basics feel familiar, save your first site so your working point and rule are kept on your account. To be emailed when the forecast crosses your limit, set up an alert rule from the Alerts page on a Pro plan or above.
Questions
Why does the number change when I change the height?
Wind speed generally rises with height. The instrument reads the model levels at 10, 80, 120 and 180 m and interpolates between them. Inside 10 to 180 m the value is native or interpolated; outside that range it is extrapolated and labelled as such.
Is P(>limit) a real probability?
It is the share of ensemble members at or above your limit for that hour, shown as a raw, uncalibrated figure. It has not been tuned against past outcomes, so treat it as a measure of forecast disagreement about your limit and not as a firm prediction.
Why does it say UNKNOWN instead of showing zero?
A missing value is not calm. If a model level is absent, a station is silent or an ensemble has too few members, the instrument says UNKNOWN and shows no probability. Missing data never becomes a number.
Can it tell me whether it is fine to lift, spray or fly?
No. It reports wind and the odds of crossing the limit you typed in. The limit comes from your own document and the decision stays with the person responsible on site.
Do I need an account for any of this?
No. Everything on this page works without signing in. An account is needed to save sites, arm email alerts and create API keys. Anonymous visitors see a 7-day forecast, while Pro and Ops accounts see 16 days.