Live · 26 NZ regions · free
Live wind in NZ,
at a glance.
Check current wind speed, gusts and direction across New Zealand. Compare nearby weather stations and see whether the wind is building, dropping or changing direction.
Colour shows the strength, a trend line shows the last two hours, and a direction trail shows how the wind has shifted. Free, no sign-up, and it holds the last reading if your signal drops.
Live wind conditions by region
Ready-made boards for 26 regions, from the Cape to the Bluff. Open your region pre-populated with the staples, then customise the stations you want from the menu.
Custom wind speed and direction alerts
Keep an eye on the stations that matter to you, with alerts for an individual station or the stations on your board.
Set your own wind threshold
Create an alert when wind speed goes above your chosen value, or when direction changes by a set number of degrees within a time window. Choose visual or audible board alerts and, on supported devices, enable background notifications.
Choose a region to set alertsSee what triggered the alert
Open a regional board and select the bell to configure alerts. When a station alerts, select ACK on its tile to acknowledge it and see a short explanation of the wind change in that same tile.
WindWatch alerts follow station observations. They are not official severe weather warnings; background delivery depends on notification permission, your device and connectivity.
Check local wind for sailing, kitesurfing and boating
Compare exposed and sheltered stations near your destination rather than relying on a single reading. Start with Auckland and Hauraki Gulf wind, Wellington Harbour wind, Hawke’s Bay and Napier wind, or Christchurch and Lyttelton wind. Coastal boards also show tide information where available.
How do I read wind speed and direction?
Choose knots or km/h in the station menu: 10 knots is about 18.5 km/h. Compare the wind speed with the gust reading to see how variable conditions are. Direction labels show where the wind comes from — a NW wind comes from the northwest — while the arrow points downwind.
Are these live observations or a wind forecast?
Station tiles show the latest available observations. The two-hour graph shows recent wind history, not a prediction. Forecast stations are labelled separately on the board. Check the reading age: station update intervals vary, and an offline board keeps its last available readings.
Can I choose my own wind stations?
Yes. Open the station menu on any regional board to search for stations or select them on the map. Zoom in to distinguish nearby stations and customise your board around the places you use.
Is WindWatch free?
Yes. You can use the regional boards and configure alerts without an account. Add WindWatch to your home screen for quick access on your phone.
What people are saying
Real reviews from people using WindWatch out on the water. Add yours below — top-rated reviews appear here automatically.
Wind you can read in a second.
WindWatch turns live wind into a board you read in a second. Each spot gets a big colour-coded tile, so one look tells you the current wind situation in your region. Behind every tile, a two-hour trend line shows whether the wind is building or dropping, and a direction trail shows how it has swung over the last half hour. Tap a tile to replay that shift.
Tiles sit in their real geographic positions, so the board matches the coast in front of you. On the coast, a tide bar shows where the tide is right now. It loads fast on a weak signal and holds the last reading if you lose reception, so you're not left staring at a blank screen off the coast. Add it to your home screen and it opens like an app.