Yet another beautiful week for weather in the PacNW. The only problem will be that this is still relatively early in the summer and with the excessive heat last week, everything is already at an August level of dryness. This will mean more wildfires and it’s also entirely possible that we’ll have even more days of excessive heating, We are also at 24 days without rain and there is no end in sight for that trend. Even though we did have a very heavy mist on the Straits early Wednesday morning, not enough to show on the rain gauge but I did have to turn on the wipers to clear the windshield.
Our Pacific High has still not set up in what we would call a normal position nor is it at a normal shape or strength. This is going to keep our weather very much the same for the foreseeable future and make for a very interesting TransPac. Currently, the Pacific High is flattened along a line at about 40°N from about 130°W-175°E and is only at 1029 to 1031MB where it would normally be round in shape, centered near 45°N and 145°W and be 1035 to 1040MB. The other feature of note today are the 500MB charts which show only a small piece of the jet stream because it is so far north. There is a small meander that shows up at the 48-hour forecast however that becomes an upper-level, cut-off low-pressure system in the Gulf of Alaska.
July 9 500 MB 
July 9 Surface Analysis 
July 10 Surface Forecast 
July 11 500 MB 
July 11 Surface Forecast 
July 12 Surface Forecast 
July 13 500 MB 
July 13 Surface Forecast
It’s going to be another beautiful weekend to be on the water especially if you have a powerboat. With high pressure offshore and low pressure inland this will maintain an onshore flow at least well into next week. It will also keep the smoke from the Canadian fires headed to the east. As usual, the most wind will be in the afternoons in the Central and Eastern Straits. A thermal northerly will fill down the Sound in the afternoons however the rest of the time it will be light.
One of the reasons we like the Three Buoy Fiasco is that you only have three marks and you can take them in any order. You can also start either direction and since it’s a staggered start with handicaps applied you can find some interesting starting situations. The question is always which way to go first. This year there is no clear answer so you will want to note current conditions before you leave the house and then once you get out on the course. The current models show there may be a residual southerly in the central Sound in the morning with a dead zone north of Shilshole. Combine this with the tidal currents and if there is wind to the south and no wind to the north, you’re going south first. Plus you get some help from the flood tide.
Tidal Currents West Point
0848 Slack
1442 Max Flood 1.15knts
1748 Slack
Once you get around the south mark it will be a close reach that turns into a beat as the wind goes around to the NW around noon to 1400 hrs.
Regardless, it will be fun! Be safe, use the sunblock, and have a great time.
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)