Product Design, Manufacturing & Innovation Resources

Windy

Live Monitoring & Tracking

Free & Paid
No Download/Install required
No registration

https://www.windy.com/

Windy is a visualization platform for weather data, showing wind, gusts, temperature, pressure, precipitation, clouds, waves and many other layers as animated maps. The interface lets the user select a forecast model, an altitude level and a time step, and also display radar, satellite and lightning layers as observations.

Our view: a must, extremely visual and precise info, for both a local and a global view. Its info is frequently republished or cited

Several numerical models are available for comparison, including ECMWF, GFS and ICON, so differences between model runs are visible for the same location. A point forecast, a meteogram and an airgram for a selected location give detail on wind at different altitudes and on the vertical profile, which is useful for aviation, sailing, drone work and outdoor operations.

Live observation layers cover radar and satellite imagery, lightning and nearby weather stations, while forecast layers are model output, so the two should be distinguished when a map is interpreted. The basic service is free and works without an account. A paid premium plan adds extra features.

Disciplines: Meteorology, Sailing, Aviation, Paragliding, Agriculture, Outdoor sports.

Free alternative to AccuWeather, Windfinder, Meteoblue.

Windy compared with AccuWeather, Windfinder and Meteoblue
Windy	AccuWeather	Windfinder	Meteoblue
Data presentation: Windy is built around an animated world map with 50 or more weather layers, radar and satellite, and spot forecasts. It targets kiters, surfers, paragliders, pilots and sailors, and also shows aviation data such as METAR, TAF and NOTAMs.		Data presentation: Windfinder is built around wind and weather forecasts for more than 200,000 spots, mainly for kitesurfing, windsurfing, surfing, sailing and paragliding. It adds statistics, a data archive back to 1999 and more than 63,000 webcams.	Data presentation: The site provides forecasts, maps and historical data, plus Weather APIs for sectors such as agriculture, solar and wind energy, transport and aviation.
Models and data sources: Users can pick between global models (ECMWF, GFS, ICON) and local models including HRRR, NAM, UKV, AROME-HD and the meteoblue model NEMS. Observations such as SYNOP reports from stations and buoys are also shown.		Models and data sources: The standard forecast uses the NOAA GFS model at 22 to 27 km resolution. The Superforecast uses WRF and NAM base models at 4 to 9 km for selected regions, and wave forecasts use NOAA WW3. Live data come from more than 35,000 stations.	Models and data sources: The MultiModel approach combines output from more than 40 weather models, and post-processing compares model data against measurements. It originated at the University of Basel, Switzerland.
Cost model: The basic service is free, and a Windy Premium purchase exists. A Windy staff member names the 1-hour forecast as a Premium feature. Windy is a freemium product.	Cost model: The free version is supported by advertising. Premium+ removes ads in the app and adds enhanced alerts, exclusive map layers and the longest forecast data. Premium+ trials are not always offered.		Cost model: The website and apps are free and funded by advertising. Paid subscriptions (point+, history+, climate+ and an ad-free option) exist. A Free Weather API allows commercial use but is limited by credits, with a maximum resolution of 1 hour.
Platforms: The service runs on the web, Android, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch, and offers weather widgets for macOS.	Platforms: The service is available as a website and an app, with government alerts and lightning alerts for U.S. locations.	Platforms: Windfinder has iOS and Android apps with customisable favourites and widgets.	Platforms: The website and weather apps for iOS and Android are available. In 2024 Windyty, S.E. acquired a majority stake in the company.