Once again we are quite lucky compared to the rest of the country, especially the folks in California, who are baking, running out of water, and running out of electricity all at the same time, YIKES!
The Pacific High is in its weak phase now with a thermal trough inland. This will keep the onshore flow cooling us down, 57° F now here on the Straits, with some breezy westerlies tonight. After that conditions will remain light for the rest of the weekend over most of the Salish Sea with some 15-25 knot southerlies along the coast lasting until mid-day Sunday.
As a weak system approaches the coast on Saturday, there is the possibility of some brief drizzle and fog in the morning. This will not last long. High pressure will rebuild over the area Monday and Tuesday.
The sat pic for today shows the marine layer along the coast and the approaching system. It also shows the fire in Central Oregon with the smoke going north until it gets to the Columbia River and meets the onshore flow coming up the Gorge when it blows the smoke into Eastern Washington.
The other chart of interest today is the 500mb, upper level, chart which shows a small, cut-off low off our coast. It won’t last long but the upper-level charts also show the jet-stream starting to move south. This will also allow more storm systems to move into our area from the Gulf of Alaska. Just not this weekend.
Be safe, and enjoy the weekend.
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)