LuckGrib - weather forecasting app

[Bruce Moore]

A friend heading back from Alaska on his 26' wooden sail boat recently posted about his use the LuckGrib weather forecasting tool available for iPad, iPhone, and Mac. It is used to visualize highly compact binary weather data files. Pretty impressive.

Here's a comprehensive video introduction (34:29).

It has a 14 day free trial. The application is $19.99. Data files are free. Any of you have experience with LuckGrib?

Thanks,

Bruce

 

[SJI Sailor]

Yes, I've used LuckGrib as my standard forecasting app for the past 6 months. In my experience it is the best Grib viewer available for mobile devices (Apple only, I think).

What I especially appreciate is that it includes many models including the standard GFS model, experimental add curated models such as NDFD (a curated model), and the next-18-hour detailed HRRR (high resolution rapid refresh) model. NDFD includes wave height forecasts. Other Grib viewers had many fewer models integrated into their UI and typically also a clunkier UI than LuckGrib.

As for models, when planning, I tend to use GFS as the best estimate for medium range (2-5 days) and compare it to NDFD to see whether there is major uncertainty between them. For short term, I use HRRR and compare to GFS.

Having said that, working with any Grib viewer is non-obvious, compared to more "user friendly" weather apps. They work with downloaded files [requested within the app] and do not show instant updates; there are many options to set to get the data you want; and the display focuses primarily on wind (as opposed to sky, precipitation, etc). And it's up to you to choose the models.

For an advanced but somewhat more traditional weather app, I also use Windy (aka Windy.com/Windy.ty, as opposed to the other "Windy" app). It has good integration of many data points, including wave forecasts. The choice probably depends on how much you really want detailed, meteorologist-esque weather data.