This crazy weather never seems to want to quit. The Pacific hurricane season officially started on May 15th and the first storm of the season (Agatha) slammed into Oaxaca, Mexico as the earliest and strongest storm to ever hit the Pacific coast of Mexico since records were kept. It then weakened as it crossed Mexico, became disorganized, and now will be the first named storm of the Atlantic season (Alex), which started on the 1st of June.
For once this year, the Pacific Northwest is behind on our monthly rainfall total. Don’t worry that will probably revert to the new normal this weekend, as we will continue to have wetter and cooler weather than normal. Just ask the Swiftsure participants how cold it was on Saturday night. Those that started with longies were the smart ones.
Unfortunately for the racers in the central and south Sound, this weekend will be on the light side. If you’re sailing in the Classic Mariners Regatta in Port Townsend, break out the foulies and the reef lines and prepare for 10-20 knots of SE breeze. Both Blake Island Races will be sailed in 0 to 6 knots of light and variable breeze. At least it will be cool and rainy.
At least tides won’t be much of an issue.
Tidal Current at West Point:
0748 Slack
1000 Max Ebb .27 knots
1148 Slack
1724 Max Flood 1.02 knots
2106 Slack
This confused and unstable weather is brought to you by a weak pressure system off our coast at about 136W. The problem is that the jet stream is south of this low and this surface low is reinforced by an upper level-low in roughly the same place. The sat pic for today clearly shows the approaching cold front. Since the low isn’t moving much the front will move in a NNE direction almost paralleling the coast. This will bring breeze to the coast, the eastern Strait of JdF, and not much else inland.
Have a great weekend, stay warm and dry, and be safe.
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)
So appreciate your predictions. All of us involved in the proposal for the J24 Worlds in September 2024 particularly want to thank you for your write up predicting all the way out to 2024. It is in writing; so we will see