It has once again been a very interesting week weatherwise since we started the week with only .06 inches of rain for the month. We are now up to a whopping .89 inches compared to an average for this date of 2.11 inches. Even so, we are still 2.44 inches of rain ahead for the year, and there is more on the way.
Today will provide us a break from the rain however the rest of the weekend is going to be wet, so it will be perfect for staying at home and staying healthy. The surface analysis chart for today shows a typical late April/early May mash-up of weather systems with neither high nor low systems dominating the chart. The high we’ve been watching off the California coast is not getting any stronger nor is it moving into a more summer-like position. Instead, it is becoming weaker and more elongated as a series of frontal systems have moved over its top.
April 24 500MB 
April 24 Surface Analysis 
April 25 Surface Forecast 
April 26 500MB 
April 26 Surface Forecast 
April 27 Surface Forecast 
April 28 500MB 
April 28 Surface Forecast
Later this evening and into tomorrow another frontal system will push through the area bringing both rain and wind, especially to the eastern end of the Strait of JdF. For the central Sound and Admiralty Inlet, this will mean southerlies of 15-25 knots which will last until midday when the post-frontal breeze fills down the Straits and a classic Puget Sound Convergence Zone sets up from Everett north to Marysville which is where we will find the heaviest rain. The strongest breeze in the Straits will be in the early morning hours as a pre-frontal southeasterly wind of 20-35 knots will churn up the eastern end of the Straits. By midday, the breeze will become a post-frontal westerly at 15-25-knots. This will ease by late Saturday and early Sunday.
Sunday will see a shift back to a pre-frontal southeasterly flow over the area as the region prepares for yet another front by late Sunday and into Monday. Don’t get those sprinklers out quite yet because if you look at the 500mb charts the flow is distinctly zonal so it will continue to bring frontal systems right into the Salish Sea.
Enjoy the weekend, stay safe, and stay healthy!
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)