I agree, we are all pretty tired of this cool and wet weather we’ve had so far this April. We are still about an inch of rainfall ahead for the month and still about 5” behind for the year. We still have not had a day this month where the high temp was over 60°F. We -+
Today’s surface chart and sat pic show that we are still in for a mostly cloudy and slightly damp weekend. We have a weak high-pressure system (1033MB) off the central California coast and a weak trough of low pressure over the Salish Sea. The front we had yesterday has moved on to the east while another weak front will come ashore late tonight and into tomorrow morning, followed by yet another front late on Sunday.
Overall, there will be more wind on Sunday than there will be on Saturday. In the eastern Strait of JdF, we could have 15-20 knots of ESE in the morning however that will ease to 10-12 knots of SE by mid-afternoon. The South Sound will be light all-day however the Central Sound may start off light, a S to SSW wind of 10-12 knots will fill by mid-day and then ease by the late afternoon.
Sunday will start light in the South Sound but be 15-20 knots from the SSW for Central Sound and that will hold for most of the day.
The other charts of interest today are the 48, 72, and 96 hr 500MB charts. They show a change from the mostly zonal flow we had to a more meridional flow by the 25th of April. This is also allowing the jet stream to slowly but steadily come ashore further and further north. This is what will bring warmer temps to our area by next weekend.
Have a great 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)