Our year of wacky weather continues and once again we can just feel lucky we don’t live in Buffalo, NY with 4-FEET of lake effect snow expected by the end of the weekend. Yikes.
November is traditionally the wettest month of the year and with it being another La Niña year it should be maybe a bit wetter than normal. Not this year. So far we’ve only had 1.67” of rain compared to an average of 3.54”. Year to date we’ve only had 29.56” inches compared to an average of 30.85” while last year at this time we had 36.08” of rain in the gauge. If we don’t get any rain until Tuesday that will set a record for the greatest number of consecutive days without rain in November. If you look at the surface charts for today and out into next week our Coastal Buffer Zone may weaken that front to the point we get no rain on Tuesday. The next chance of rain will then be towards the end of next weekend.
Today’s surface chart and sat pic show an amazingly clear area over the Pacific Northwest. It usually doesn’t get this clear even in the summer. Remember also, that the white in the Cascades and Olympics, is snow and not clouds! The Sat Pic also shows the next low and attached frontal system out in the Pacific with excellent clarity. The surface chart is particularly interesting with a very high(1046mb), high-pressure system over lower inland BC. Earlier in the week, it was forecast to be as high as 1058mb. While very high, it is nowhere near the record of 1083.8mb set in Agata, Siberia. It is however the reason why we’ve had some very cool nights with a strong, cold flow out of the Fraser River Valley. The surface chart also shows a very effective wall of high-pressure systems running from the Bay area to well up into Alaska. This is what will keep us with below normal precipitation for at least the next 10 days.
Plenty of sailboat racing going on this weekend with the CYC Turkey Bowl being the biggest event and with the best chance of wind, at least on Saturday. As you can see from the Sunday surface chart, the pressure gradient eases considerably. So Sunday looks very light just about everywhere and that matches with the surface forecast charts. It looks light on Saturday for the Le Mans Race in Gig Harbor as well as the Squaxin Island Race out of Olympia.
For the Turkey Bowl on Saturday expect 5-8 knots of NNE in the mid-morning and then building to 8-12 knots by noon and holding for the rest of the day. Just about perfect but it will be chilly. At least no rain or snow.
Enjoy the weekend and don’t forget the sunblock!
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)
You forgot to mention the first SBYC Snowbird race is tomorrow too.
Let’s hear about all of them!