It is really starting to look a lot like winter out there and this weekend will totally reinforce that outlook as we begin to deal with a series of fronts making their way into the Salish Sea. Today’s front went through between three and four o’clock this morning as indicated by the barometric pressure starting to rise at that time. This will then bring a change in wind direction starting in the offshore waters and then working inland.
As of 0830 hours, while we may have 28 knots from the south at West Point, we already have 31 knots from the west at Race Rocks. These winds have to meet somewhere and that will bring a convergence zone to Puget Sound. The models are not in agreement as to when this occurs but if you track the VHF station reports you’ll have a pretty good idea and right now it looks like between 1300 and 1500 hours this afternoon. This will mean that the current southwesterly begin to drop in velocity around 1200 hours and you’ll see short, sharp swings to the west at the mast head. The northerly will start as a northeasterly and then back to the northwest after around 1600.
Tomorrow looks light but I’ll have an update this afternoon.
Have fun out there and be safe.
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)