Marine Weather Information

“Weather forecasting is an ‘inexact science’, and in few places on Earth is it more inexact than the Canadian Maritimes.”

Environment Canada issues marine forecasts for the Maritimes at approximately 0300, 1000, 1530, and 2000 hrs, although forecasts may be 'revised' at any time as weather systems evolve. Prudent cruisers will keep a close eye on the weather and avail themselves of the latest forecast.

VHF Weatheradio

Weatheradio Canada, operated by Environment Canada's Meteorological Service, broadcasts continuously on VHF channels WX1 – WX7, providing marine and terrestrial forecasts in both English and French. Following public consultaion, the weather forecast format was significantly revised for 2013, making the forecasts more useful to the cruiser. Each transmitter gives the marine forecast for several adjacent areas, along with the outlook for the marine areas. The complete segment of terrestrial and marine forcast is now considerably shorter, and alternates in French and English. The following should be taken into consideration:

• Reception may be poor or impossible in many of the sheltered harbours and anchorages around our coastline and on the Bras d'Or Lakes. Frequently a distant transmitter, on Prince Edward Island or Magdalen Islands, may come through more clearly than a local transmitter.
• Currently only WX1, WX2, and WX3 are used on Cape Breton. However the use of other channels is slowly being introduced, and should help reduce the cross‑station interference. Notably, Souris, which frequently interfered with Sydney(Victoria Junction), has now been switched to WX7. The Cape Breton Island transmissions include the forecast for the Bras d'Or Lakes System.
• A chart showing the marine forecast areas is provided below.
• A road (terrestrial) map of the province(s) may be of benefit in understanding the station locations, forecasts, weather reports, and severe weather warnings for those unfamiliar with the local area.
• Transmitters serving Cape Breton Island are shown in bold type in the table below. Their locations can be seen by clicking on the map below.

CLICK on map to see location of transmitters on Cape Breton Is.	WX1	WX2	WX3	WX4	WX5	WX6	WX7
	Dingwall NS  (Cape North) Halifax NS Middleton NS River Denys NS New Tusket NS Shelburne NS	Aspen NS  (Melrose) Bridgewater NS Sydney NS  (Victoria Jn)	East Bay NS  (Ben Eoin) Cheticamp NS Oak Park NS Yarmouth NS			Springhill† NS Tangier† NS Truro NS
		Charlottetown PE	O'Leary PE				Souris PE
	Miscou Island NB Moncton NB	Saint‑Isadore NB			Miramichi NB
	Magdalen Is QC
	Hermitage NL Red Rocks NL Trepassey NL	Stephenville NL  (Bay St George) Marystown NL St John's NL	Lameline NL		Hermitage† NL	Burgeo NL
	NOTES: † = Planned transmitter The name in parentheses '( )' is the transmitter location, and is generally used to identify the station, in the broadcast preamble, rather than the station name. The Meteorological Service advises that it plans to resolve this "naming confusion". This table shows all NS transmitters, but for the other provinces only those closest to Cape Breton Island.

CCGR VHF Continuous Marine Broadcast

Canadian Coast Guard Radio (CCGR) operates continuous marine broadcasts (CMB) on VHF Ch‑21B(WX8) and Ch‑83B(WX9), depending on the area. The following should be noted:

• You will need to set your VHF radio to "International" to receive Ch‑21B and Ch‑83B.
• The CMB includes Notices to Shipping, and Notices to Fish Harvesters, and other information as appropriate to the area. You may have to listen for a long time to receive the desired forecast in your preferred language.
• There seems to be no set times for switching languages.
• The marine forecast includes the technical synopsis and the outlook for several days, in both English and French.
• A chart showing the marine forecast areas is provided below.
• Reception may be poor or impossible in many of the sheltered harbours and anchorages around our coastline, as only transmitters located at Cape North, Port Caledonia (Glace Bay), and Montague on Prince Edward Island cover Cape Breton.
• If unable to receive from a CMB transmitter, call Sydney CGR on Ch‑16, and request the forecast be read to you. The operators are extremely helpful and can usually communicate with you via one of their other transmitter sites.

CCGR MF-SSB Broadcasts

Cruisers with single sideband (SSB) radio may take advantage of the MF‑SSB broadcasts transmitted by CCGR. These marine forecasts include a technical synopsis and the marine outlook for several days, and cover a wider area than VHF Weatheradio. The broadcasts give the forecast in the predominant language (English or French) of the area first, followed by the other language, before the Notices to Shipping and Notices to Fish Harvesters. The table below provides information on these broadcasts, and indicates if they give information for the marine areas bordering Cape Breton Island (Cabot Strait, Forchu, Gulf-Magdalen, and Northumberland Strait). Transmission is on upper sideband. Note that each station transmits only four times per day.

CLICK HERE to download this table and the following list of forecast areas.

NAVTEX

There was a time when the marine forecasts were transmitted in plain-text by NAVTEX. Unfortunately, they are now only transmitted in a cryptic format which makes them almost useless for the average cruiser. Those with the necessary cryptographic skills wishing to make use of these forecasts should consult:
Radio Aids to Marine Navigation ♦ Aides radio à la navigation maritime
(Atlantic, St Lawrence, Great Lakes, Lake Winnipeg, and Eastern Arctic).

Weather via Internet

• Marine Weather — Maritimes
• Météo maritime — Maritimes

Weather via Telephone (English/Français)

• Marine Weather — 1-855-627-4630 (toll free)
  Quick Guide for local areas

  English	1
  Français	2
  Forchu	1 - 2
  Gulf Magdalen	4 - 3
  Northumberland Strait	4 - 4
  Cabot Strait	4 - 5
  Bras d'Or Lakes	5 - 2

  e.g. To hear the forecast for Gulf Magdalen in English press 1 - 4 - 3

Marine Forecast Areas

Wreckhouse Area: Forecasts for Cabot Strait will often contain high wind warnings for the "Wreckhouse Area". This area of notoriously high winds is on the western side of the southwestern tip of Newfoundland, as indicated on the chart below.

CLICK HERE to download the above chart of forecast areas.

Updated: 2015-12-05