Flip Phone Options

Don’t go out and buy that smartphone just yet. For basic cell phone users there are several options available to you. Sure it might not be shown on the biggest screen, it might have advertising, and you might have to scroll a lot but there is a good chance that it will be free.

Text Alerts & On-Demand Messaging

Online Resources: weather.com/mobile and weatherusa.net/alerts

Both Weather.com and Weatherusa.net allow you to sign up for weather alerts sent to your phone as text messages. Both offer free options and weatherusa.net offers a fee based premium version – standard text messaging rates apply. You set the frequency and the type of alert you want to receive. Here are the subscription only options weather.com offers: Severe Weather, Pollen Alert, Rain Alert, Extreme Heat, Cold and Ice Alerts.

Tip: Sign up for subscription services online so you can find all the options available.

Weather.com also offers On-Demand Messaging for boaters out on the water who need immediate weather information. Custom text messages are sent to your phone depending on the type of alert you select. Get On-Demand Weather Forecast for your location by texting your zip code or city and 2 letter state abbreviation to 42278 or 78676. If you want Current Conditions (CURR) or Daily Surf and Sea Conditions (SEA) add these codes to the beginning of the text message.

Mobile Web

Online Resources: mobile.weather.gov and m.wund.com

If your phone is equipped with mobile web browsing you can access free weather information. The sites listed above have current weather, forecast and radar. These services might not be the most visually appealing but they get the job done. In fact, we found that the Mobile Weather Underground had the easiest layout to read on a small screen. The NOAA mobile website has features and information that many of the paid apps lack. In addition to land-based weather reports you can also “search” for marine forecast and get buoy station reports. You might have to root through several pages and “click” several times but it is available.

Tip: Eliminate searching for current buoy weather by knowing local NOAA Station IDs.

Subscription Weather Applications

Also available from many phone providers are subscription plans for weather services. These are add-on services to your phone plan and are provided by many third party companies such as: My-Cast, Pilot My-Cast, Fishing My-Cast, WeatherBug, The Weather Channel, and AccuWeather. Current prices range from $2.99 to $9.99 a month.

Tip: These add-on weather services are provider and phone model dependant so the best way to find out if you have access is to log-in online to you mobile phone account and see if it is listed as an option.

Dial-In Services

NOAA has several free dial-in services for boaters to get marine weather and tidal-current information. These products are distributed by various offices within NOAA so there is overlap in the information. You have to know the geographic identifiers for your local marine weather.

Tip: Most dial-in services have extensive phone trees. Try the process out first to pick the one with the least steps for you.

• The National Weather Service has offices throughout the country with local phone numbers that have recorded marine and local forecast as found on NOAA Weather radio.
• The National Data Buoy Center offers a nation Dial-A-Buoy phone number with recorded marine forecasts. Call 888-701-8992.
• The PORTS program provides real-time tides and current data for 18 regions throughout the U.S. Visit the website for your local phone number.