Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 17, 18, 19, 20 April. We’re getting closer to SUMMER and maybe SAILING!

We had our first day of 70°F yesterday so that’s a start. Now at least until Tuesday we’ll have highs in the mid to upper 60°F range with very little precip to worry about. Although it may not be too early to start worrying about what this summer might be like especially when we look at the upper air chart for next week.

Today’s surface analysis shows our normal springtime mix of highs, lows and stalled fronts. Today won’t be as warm as yesterday as a weak low pressure system will move over us tonight and into tomorrow morning. You can already see the leading edge creep over us as we have gone from a beautiful clear morning to an afternoon of high clouds. This also shows up very clearly on the satellite image. While we’ll have our usual pattern of a light breeze in the morning building to a nice 10-15-knot northerly late this afternoon, this will all change tomorrow with the possibility of some light rain around the area. It will also bring a southerly flow to the area may be as much as 15-knots in the center Sound. This will decrease in the late afternoon as an onshore flow develops in the Strait of JdF.

By Sunday morning the breeze will be light but as the onshore flow comes down Admiralty Inlet we can expect another northerly in the Sound by late afternoon.

The other chart of interest today is the 48hr surface forecast chart (19 Apr) which shows a nice round 976mb low-pressure system in the central Pacific aimed right at the Pacific Northwest. This will weaken as it runs into our 1019mb high that will be in place, protecting the Salish Sea until about late Tuesday or early Wednesday when the remnants of the attached frontal system will drag over us possibly bringing some light rain.  

Another chart of interest is todays 500mb which shows a zonal jet stream until about the longitude of Hawaii where it does a 90° turn to the north leaving a cutoff upper air low-pressure system in mid-Pacific, very unusual. Gradually that big bend in the jet stream will disappear and the flow will return to more zonal but well to the south of us which will slow the heating in the upper atmosphere and keep our area in a cooler, more unstable weather pattern. This will keep soil temperatures a little low and slow growth which is probably a good thing however we may have a bit more moisture than normal. Also a good thing, especially if you live in California.

Regardless of the weather, I do know I’d really like to get back out on the water! So let’s keep our fingers crossed that maybe Wednesday night racing can finally get started!

Be safe and stay healthy!

Bruce Hedrick

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)