Currents helps you understand water movement for the selected Weather pin or route.
Use Currents to check current speed, current direction, and how conditions change over time.
What does it show?
The Currents tab shows forecast current speed and direction for the selected location and selected time.
Map
The Currents map overlay shows the forecast visually for the selected area.
It includes:
Current speed heatmap
Shows current speed on the chart. Stronger colours indicate faster currents. An expandable legend can be found in the bottom left hand corner.Animated currents particles
The Currents map also shows animated current particles. These help show water movement in the area. The direction of the particles shows which way the current is moving, and the animation speed helps show current intensity.
Weather pin or location along a route
Marks the location the forecast is based on and shows the current direction and speed for the selected time.Data source label
Appears in the bottom-right corner of the map.
In some areas, especially outside the UK, you may see gaps between the shoreline and the Currents data on the map. This is because high-resolution current coverage is not available equally close to shore in all regions.
If you see an error that says “Nothing to show here” and “Move the pin to a new location”, it is likely that you are looking to see currents in one of these near-shore locations.
Bottom sheet
The bottom sheet contains the Currents weather chart. This is where you can inspect current speed and direction over time. You can scroll the chart horizontally to move through the forecast.
Weather chart
The Currents weather graph shows:
Direction icons
Shows the forecast current direction at each point in time.
Highest-speed reference line
A dashed line shows the highest current speed in the full data range. This helps you compare the selected time with the strongest current shown in the graph.
Current speed bars
Bars represent current speed. Taller bars indicate faster currents.Current speed value line
Shows current speed values over time.
Together, these let you compare current speed and direction for the selected Weather pin or Route across the forecast period.
The current speed and direction shown in the chart should correspond to the current speed and direction shown on the map for the Weather pin or position along a route at the selected time.
The available forecast range can vary by location. For Smart Navigation subscribers, Orca generally shows between 7 and 10 days of forecast depending on the data available for the selected area. The forecast may be more detailed for the near future and becomes less granular further ahead in time.
Free users and Plus subscribers can see up to 5 day of forecasts.
Expanded view
The expanded Currents view also shows:
Forecast updated information.
Automatic selection for weather model.
Currents currently uses Automatic selection only. This means Orca automatically selects the forecast source or model for the selected area.
How is it measured?
Currents are measured by speed and direction.
Current speed tells you how fast the water is moving. Current direction tells you where the water is moving.