Viewing Sea Conditions; Viewing Fishing Information; Visibility Information - Garmin GPSMAP 8600 Series Owner's Manual

2
Select an option:
• To view the weather forecast for the next 48 hours, in 12-
hour increments, select
• To view the weather forecast for the previous 48 hours, in
12-hour increments, select
Weather Fronts and Pressure Centers
Weather fronts appear as lines that indicate the leading edge of
an air mass.
Front Symbol
Pressure-center symbols often appear near weather fronts.
Pressure- Description
Center
Symbol
Indicates a low-pressure center, which is a region of
relatively lower pressure. Moving away from a low-
pressure center results in increased pressure. Winds
flow counterclockwise around low-pressure centers in
the northern hemisphere.
Indicates a high-pressure center, which is a region of
relatively higher pressure. Moving away from a high-
pressure center results in decreased pressure. Winds
flow clockwise around high-pressure centers in the
northern hemisphere.
Viewing a Marine Forecast or an Offshore Forecast
1
Select Charts > Forecast.
2
Pan the chart to an offshore location.
The Marine Forecast or Offshore Forecast options appear
when forecast information is available.
3 Select Marine Forecast or Offshore Forecast.
City Forecasts
City forecasts appear as weather symbols. The forecast is
viewed in 12-hour increments.
Symbol Weather
Partly cloudy
Cloudy
Windy
Thunderstorms
Smoke (dusty, hazy)

Viewing Sea Conditions

The Sea Conditions feature shows information about surface
conditions, including winds, wave height, wave period, and wave
direction.
Select Charts > Sea Conditions.
Surface Winds
Surface wind vectors appear on the Sea Conditions chart using
wind barbs that indicate the direction from which the wind is
blowing. A wind barb is a circle with a tail. The line or flag
attached to the tail of the wind barb indicates the wind speed. A
short line represents 5 knots, a long line represents 10 knots,
and triangle represents 50 knots.
48
multiple times.
multiple times.
Description
Cold front
Warm front
Stationary front
Occluded front
Trough
Symbol Weather
Fair (sunny, hot, clear)
Rain (drizzle, sleet, showers)
Foggy
Snow (snow showers, flurries,
blizzard, blowing snow, sleet,
freezing rain, freezing drizzle)
Wind Barb Wind Speed
Calm
5 knots
10 knots
15 knots
Wave Height, Wave Period, and Wave Direction
Wave heights for an area appear as variations in color. Different
colors indicate different wave heights, as shown in the legend.
The wave period indicates the time (in seconds) between
successive waves. Wave period lines indicate areas that have
the same wave period.
Wave directions appear on the chart using red arrows. The
direction of each arrow pointer indicates the direction in which a
wave is moving.
Viewing Forecast Sea Conditions Information for
Another Time Period
1
Select Charts > Sea Conditions.
2
Select an option:
• To view forecasted sea conditions for the next 36 hours, in
12-hour increments, select
• To view the forecasted sea conditions for the previous 36
hours, in 12-hour increments, select

Viewing Fishing Information

The weather Fishing chart shows present water temperature,
present surface pressure conditions, and fishing forecasts.
Select Charts > Fishing.
Surface Pressure and Water Temperature Data
Surface-pressure information appears as pressure isobars and
pressure centers. Isobars connect points of equal pressure.
Pressure readings can help to determine weather and wind
conditions. High-pressure areas are generally associated with
fair weather. Low-pressure areas are generally associated with
clouds and the chance of precipitation. Isobars packed closely
together show a strong pressure gradient. Strong pressure
gradients are associated with areas of stronger winds.
Pressure units are shown in millibars (mb), inches of Mercury
(inHg), or hectopascals (hPa).
Colored shading indicates the surface temperature of the water,
as shown in the legend in the corner of the display.
Changing the Sea Surface Temperature Color Range
You can change the color range dynamically to view higher
resolution sea surface temperature readings.
1
From the weather fishing chart, select Menu > Sea
Temperature.
2 Select an option:
• To allow the chartplotter to adjust the temperature range
automatically, select Auto Configure.
The chartplotter automatically finds the lower and upper
limits for the current screen, and updates the temperature-
color scale.
• To enter the lower and upper limits for the temperature
range, select Lower Limit or Upper Limit, and enter the
lower or upper limit.

Visibility Information

Visibility is the forecast maximum horizontal distance that can be
seen at the surface, as shown in the legend on the left of the
screen. Variations in the visibility shading show the forecast
change in surface visibility.
Wind Barb Wind Speed
20 knots
50 knots
65 knots
multiple times.
multiple times.
SiriusXM Weather