Sure enough, after the 5th of July, summer has finally made an appearance in the Pacific NW. We will definitely take our weather compared to the rest of the country with its sweltering temperatures and wild thunderstorms.
The Pacific High is still weak (1030MB) and well south and well to the west of what should be its normal position. This is resulting in very slow Vic-Maui and Pacific Cup Races. If this instability continues it will be difficult for some of the Vic-Maui fleet to make the time limit. The Pacific Cup is also off to a very slow start but starting further south does have its advantages. The other interesting feature on today’s surface analysis chart is the second named storm (Bonnie) of the eastern Pacific hurricane season is now almost to the latitude of the Big Island of Hawaii but only at 120W. The water is still too cool to sustain development so it shouldn’t affect any of the races heading to the Islands. We will continue to watch this storm. See the 8 July Sat Pic.
Overall, today’s surface chart is a real mish mash of pressure systems with a weak 1018Mb low almost directly in the path of the racers with a secondary high-pressure system (1021MB) just to the SE of the low and another weak low (1017MB) at 40N and 133W. Off of our coast is a weak high-pressure system (1020MB) with a weak low-pressure system in the Gulf of Alaska with an attached frontal system that will dissipate off our coast on Saturday night and into Sunday morning. With a weak high offshore and lower pressure in eastern Washington, we will have weak onshore flow with the strongest breeze in the Strait of JdF with some breeze filling down the Sound late Saturday afternoon and into Saturday night. Conditions will ease overnight as the front passes over the Salish Sea. Sunday will see light conditions over most waters until late Sunday afternoon when onshore flow will bring 15-20 knots of westerly down the Straits.
The other interesting chart is the 10 July 500MB which shows not one but two cut-off upper-level lows which will continue to impact our weather by keeping the jet stream well to the north.
Be safe and enjoy our summer!
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)