We still have some showers around the area however those should all be gone as this cold front moves on to the east. As per usual, this will bring a post-frontal, onshore flow to the area which will mean SW a breeze for the central Sound this afternoon. With a strong westerly coming down the Straits watch for our famous convergence zone to develop this afternoon and maybe into the early evening from Edmonds north to Marysville.
April 19 500MB 
April 19 Surface Analysis 
April 20 Surface Forecast 
April 21 Surface Forecast 
April 22 500MB 
April 22 Surface Forecast 
April 23 Surface Forecast
With a weak ridge of high-pressure trying to build over the area tomorrow, this will bring strong westerlies to the Straits and a nice northerly flow down the Sound and should give racers a pretty nice day on the water. You could start off with 15-20 knots of northerly which will gradually ease off starting about mid-afternoon.
Current won’t be much of an issue as you can see from tidal current at West Point.
Saturday
0700 .39knts Ebb
1206 Slack
1530 1.15knts Flood
1818 Slack
Sunday
0748 .40knts Ebb
1236 Slack
1618 1.17knts Flood
1918 Slack
On Saturday you should probably expect the flood to start maybe 30 minutes early because of the northerly wind flow down Sound so you’ll really want to watch COG and SOG on the beats. Eventually, it will pay to come off the starting line and go west as the wind will back from a true northerly to a more traditional northwesterly. Something to watch for.
Sunday will be a more difficult day as there won’t be much gradient over the Salish Sea and the area will begin to feel the approach of the next frontal system due to arrive late Sunday or early Monday. This will create a light southerly flow over the central Sound on Sunday morning which will give way to very light conditions by Sunday afternoon before a weak northerly comes down from the Straits in the late afternoon or early evening.
Have a great weekend and good luck on the big Easter Egg Hunt!
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)