Meteorology
Weather systems, forecasts and how they shape a passage.
Topics in study order
- 1.Pressure, Wind and the Coriolis Effect
How air pressure, Highs and Lows, the Coriolis effect and friction make the wind, and how to read pressure tendency, backing and veering and the Beaufort scale. It is the base of all marine weather work on the bridge and a standard MCA oral subject.
10 cards
1 Nov 2026 - 2.Humidity, Dew Point and Fog
What humidity and the dew point are, how to find the dew point with the wet and dry bulb, and how advection (sea) fog and radiation (land) fog form and clear. Predicting fog from the sea temperature keeps you ahead of restricted visibility, and it is a regular MCA oral question.
10 cards
1 Nov 2026 - 3.Depressions, Fronts and Synoptic Charts
How temperate depressions form and move, what warm, cold and occluded fronts are, what weather a ship meets as a Low passes, and how to read a synoptic chart and its geostrophic wind scale. It lets you forecast the next hours from your own barometer, wind and sky, and it is a standard MCA oral question.
9 cards
1 Nov 2026 - 4.Weather Instruments and Observations
The weather instruments on a ship (aneroid barometer, barograph, precision aneroid, marine screen with wet and dry bulb, sea thermometer and anemometer) and how to correct, read and report them. Good readings give you the pressure tendency and dew point you forecast from, and examiners expect you to know each instrument and its errors.
12 cards
1 Nov 2026 - 5.Weather Forecasts and Information at Sea
Where a ship gets its weather: own observations, NAVTEX, Inmarsat-C SafetyNET, VHF and the BBC shipping forecast, local and internet forecasts, and the Admiralty publications. It also covers forecast terms, weather at the handover and SOLAS danger messages, all standard MCA oral questions.
12 cards
1 Nov 2026 - 6.Tropical Revolving Storms: Formation and Warning Signs
What a tropical revolving storm is and what it is called in each ocean, where and why it forms, how it moves, and the early warning signs from the barometer, swell, wind and sky. Spotting a TRS early gives the ship time to keep clear, and it is a standard MCA oral question.
9 cards
1 Nov 2026 - 7.Tropical Revolving Storms: Semicircles and Avoiding Action
How to tell which side of a tropical revolving storm you are on from the wind shift and the barometer, where the centre lies, and what avoiding action to take in each semicircle in both hemispheres, with ship preparation and danger messages. It keeps the ship out of the worst winds and is a classic MCA oral question.
11 cards
1 Nov 2026