So much for this being a typical La Niña year. We may still be ahead for rain on this date however the long-range trend looks dry and not much more snow in the mountains, at least for the next week. Yes, we do have a frontal system coming in over Saturday night and into Sunday however that will start to ease on Monday with another ridge of high-pressure starting to build over the area.
To get the best feel for this start with today’s surface analysis chart and follow the sequence through 1 Feb. With tomorrow’s surface forecast chart, you can see the strong high (1040MB) inland with SEVEN centers of high-pressure over the western US and eastern Pacific. The offshore high is trending to drift to the north and this will continue to be a block for systems coming across the Pacific. This will be reinforced by the jet stream which will maintain its zonal flow over the Pacific before becoming meridional as it approaches the coast. This will also have the effect of bringing cooler temps into the Pacific NW.
If you’re sailing this weekend expect nice sailing on Saturday with breezy conditions on Sunday especially in Admiralty Inlet and the Straits with post-frontal winds of 25-30 knots. These will ease by late Sunday and into Monday morning.
Enjoy the weekend and especially the picture of the Tonga eruption with the remains of Cyclone Cody off to the SW of the eruption. Love those satellites!
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)