Finally! A weekend without rain. Well, it’s about time. If only it were a normal Holiday and we were all out celebrating on the water with friends and family. I did notice a fair amount of traffi8c out on the Sound this morning so some of you are getting out there which is great.
It will remain cloudy today as we still have a weak upper-level low in place over the Pac NW and a weak weather system moving through the area today. This system shows up nicely on the Langley Hill Doppler and the current direction of movement indicates that the San Juans might get some rain later this afternoon.
July 3 500mb 
July 3 Surface Analysis 
July 4 Surface Forecast 
July 5 500mb 
July 5 Surface Forecast 
July 6 Surface Forecast 
July 7 500mb 
July 7 Surface Forecast
You can see from today’s chart this weak system is coming off of a 1011mb low off the north end of Vancouver Island. Further offshore we have our Pacific High that is still not quite stabilized however it is getting there. If it were a “normal” year we would have been starting the Vic-Maui Race or the Pacific Cup and conditions would have been very mild so a nice race just a bit on the slow side.
As we progress through the weekend the weather will get better, however, the pressure gradient will remain weak so winds will remain light except in the Central and Eastern Strait of JdF. This will occur Saturday night, Sunday night, and again on Monday night where there could Small Craft Advisories when the wind could be 15-25 knots from the west.
Another interesting feature to watch is the development of a cut-off upper-level low on the 7th of July which will bring cloudy and cooler weather back into the NW. Not all bad as this will help keep our snowpack in place and keep the fire danger down, at least a little longer. Conditions are still dry on the other side of the Cascades so that will remain a problem.
Enjoy the weekend, be safe, watch the weather and above all else, 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)