Hello,
Thought this would be a good topic and educational for some like me!
I'm in the Northeast, Long Island Sound. Prevailing South Westerly.
I use three sites at the moment, but looking to expand and get more accuracy with wind forecasts:
1.) National Data Buoy Center - Unfortuntately this one buoy is out of service at the moment, but you can scoot down west to pick up the nearest operational beacon.
http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=440392.)
http://www.wunderground.com is my preferred weather site at the moment for local weather predictions and usually has a local station atop a building reporting wind direction other weather data.
3.) This comes from my pilot training as a student pilot. I think I'll be helping you guys get a new advantage here! Local airports have excellent up to the moment wind readings through METARS, a format for reporting weather information. You have to know the 4-letter station identifier for the nearest airport where you'll be sailing, for example, Van Nuys in California is " KVNY ". Make sure you choose the "translated" option or you'll be a bit confused on decoding the METAR. This is by far the best up to the moment weather you can get for free.
http://www.aviationweather.gov/adds/metars/ Ok, your turn to share how you do it!