The Weather Handbook is the essential guide to how the weather is formed, providing readers with the ability to look at the sky and interpret its signs, and combine this knowledge with information provided by professional forecasts to assess for themselves what the coming weather is likely to be.

This handbook has been the standard reference for over 20 years for students on Day Skipper and Yachtmaster courses, and the handbook of choice for skippers and crew of cruising and racing yachts. The fourth edition has been updated and expanded with new photos and explanatory text, addressing new sources of weather information. There are countless websites and apps providing forecast data, and The Weather Handbook guides users in how to use and interpret this information for themselves, taking a general forecast for a wide area to provide a local forecast for a specific location.

‘The perfect introduction to understanding weather’ Practical Boat Owner

An absolute must for anyone who needs a forecast truly applicable to you, wherever you are. * RNLI magazine *
The Weather Handbook is written in a conversational style that helps break down the jargon. And there are helpful summaries ... The handbook would be great to keep onboard, not necessarily as a reference, but as some easy and educational reading. * Sailing (US magazine) *
The goal of the book is to teach readers to look at the sky, interpret its signs and leverage their knowledge to asses the coming weather. * Soundings (US) *

Alan Watts, one-time professional meteorologist, spent considerable time studying wind changes and short-term alterations in the weather. This, combined with his enthusiasm for sailing which began with the sea scouts, led to his first book. He was also the author of the bestselling Instant Weather Forecasting and Instant Wind Forecasting both published by Adlard Coles Nautical. He died in May 2020.