The irrepressible Bruce not only gave the South Straits racers their own forecast, he’s clueing the rest of us in as well.
For an Easter weekend, not all bad. The Straits guys and gals got off this morning in light conditions however the wind is building as they head towards the Ballenas mark. Currently, they have about 15 from the west at Halibut Bank. Unfortunately, it will probably drop from here on.
Click to enlarge images.
The current chart shows a cold front that is moving to the SE across the area today. Post frontal activity will create a brief period of onshore flow today which will create small craft warnings in the Straits of Juan de Fuca late this afternoon and into the evening. Expect a light northerly late tonight or early Saturday due to that a 1044MB High that is situated over eastern BC and Alberta. This will dissipate and the flow will become onshore again Saturday afternoon with small craft warnings again being posted for the Straits and the northern part of Admiralty Inlet. You can expect the onshore flow to strengthen Sunday before weakening on Monday.
The satellite picture shows some clouds but not much in the way of rain so it really looks like a pretty nice weekend. So get out and get the boat ready for some nice springtime sailing. Also, don’t forget about the Sloop Tavern Blakely Rock Benefit Race next weekend. Great event for a great cause and we’ll have an in-depth forecast for you next Friday.
Bruce has raced and cruised the Pacific Northwest his entire life. He earned a Bachelor’s of Science from the University of Washington in Biological Oceanography and learned meteorology “to keep from getting kicked around on the race course.” Bruce spent nearly two decades as Associate Publisher for Northwest Yachting Magazine, retiring in mid-2015, and was the chairman of the board of trustees for the Northwest Marine Trade Association in 2014. (photo of Bruce driving Playstation is a bit dated, but cool)