Meteo Consult

Simplified Joint-Stock Company, (Société par actions simplifiée (SAS)) belonging to the newspaper Le Figaro, itself owned by GIMD (Groupe Industriel Marcel Dassault).

Météo Consult is a meteorological design office that also publishes the Météo chain.

This company has its own computers and a team of meteorologists to develop numerical weather prediction (NWP) models from supercomputers in the USA and Great Britain processing data collected by the World Meteorological Organization's observation networks.

Forecasts are based on mathematical time modeling equations that provide a relative approach to the behaviour of the atmosphere.

Meteo Consult's offer:

Météo Consult provides various free services to sailors in coastal areas. This area extends up to 20 miles from the coast.

In this area you will find 14-day forecasts whose accuracy is assessed as a percentage of a scale of up to 100.

For each day you have the wind direction.

Knowing the wind direction is essential in navigation because wave height depends on the distance the wind travels over the sea. Thus the Mistral crushes the waves and by following the coast you can sail with force 5. On the other hand, it would be dangerous and uncomfortable to sail under force 5 with a southerly wind that would push the waves for about a hundred kilometres.

You also have the wave height, swell height and total height.

It is very important to look at the height of the waves (sea of wind) and the swell because the effects of each are very different. The swell does not hit the hull of the boat while the wave hits it. We can sail with 1.50 metres of swell but with difficulty with 1.50 metres of waves with our boats.

It should also be noted that actual waves and winds can be 40% stronger than the average of waves and winds estimated by the meteo sites.

Finally, when sailing to an unknown area, to moor in an unknown port, it is a good idea to consult the "Port" section of Météo Consult. We will then know the sea state at the entrance to the Port at the estimated time of our arrival.

To get an overview of the meteorological situation in the Mediterranean basin, it is necessary to look at the "Video forecasts" section. It allows you to plan your navigations and crossings.

Météo- Consult offers large, personalised forecasts, accessible by telephone with payment by credit card during crossings to Corsica for example.

Conclusion

Météo France and Météo Consult are two interesting weather sites to consult and compare because they do not use the same sources (météo France has its own observation satellites among others) nor the same MPN. Consulting these two sites ensures that you do not have similar forecasts due to the use of similar sources.