Do you use all the weather displays within your TIMEZERO software?

Let’s take a look at all the weather forecast information that can be displayed and what they are useful for.

Once your weather forecast has been downloaded it will be displayed within the planning window. From the section “LAYERS” you can select various different measures of weather: wind barbs, oceanic currents, waves and pressure isoclines.

Within TIMEZERO wind is displayed using wind barbs. These barbs are directional and the barbs (small line(s) coming out at one end) themselves help to indicate the strength of the wind. The long straight line indicates the direction (the wind direction is where the side which contains the barb). From light blue wind barbs to red, the wind increases in strength.


This data contains atmospheric pressure forecast at sea level and is available globally (90°N/90°S/0°- 360°)

How can I understand pressure isobars? Understanding isobars which are the lines of pressure seen in this picture is an art form that requires experience. Having said that, a general rule of thumb is that where the lines are closer together the pressure change is taking place more quickly meaning that there will be more wind and adverse weather conditions.


500 mb is the pressure at the height above the sea surface where the pressure drops to 500mb. The sea surface temperature is on average 1000 mb. Knowing how to read peaks and troughs in 500 mb heights can be useful for detecting weather changes that may take place at sea level.

Mb stands for Millibars and it is therefore also a measurement of pressure.

The 500 mb height (above sea level) is effectively everywhere in the atmosphere when the pressure is equal to 500mb. Cold air is denser than warm air, so in cold areas the 500 mb height will be lower than in hotter areas. So in cold places like the North and South Pole, the height of the 500 mb is lower (as low as say 4600m in altitude), whereas at the equator, it is higher (say at 6000m in altitude).

Like with the pressure display, the closer these 500 mb height contours are together, the higher the wind speed and the stronger the temperature difference is below 500 mb. For more information please refer to this article by NOAA.

Weather in color:

TZ Navigator allows you to see various weather factors as a heat map such as: Air Temp, Cloud, Wind, Pressure, 500mb, Wave, Ocean currents, etc.


Seeing how the weather progresses is perhaps the most important tool. To access this, click on the icon found in the area highlighted below until it becomes the correct weather symbol:

Weather forecasts and display are integrated features within TIMEZERO. To access the forecasts, an internet connection is required. You can equally import your own GRIB files into all TIMEZERO software.

For more information on the weather  TZ Navigator v3, click below: