Our relatively boring weather will continue however the temps are cooling and there are some impressive low-pressure systems in the North Pacific. These systems and their attached frontal systems are beginning to impact our weather. This coming week the tail end of a cold front will drag over us on Monday. Whatever rain it brings will be light and won’t help our ongoing drought conditions.
We mentioned the tropics in the Atlantic last week and today I have attached a very colorful chart from the National Hurricane Center. There are now three major systems in the North Atlantic with Hurricane Lee poised to strike the Maritime Provinces of Canada. The other two systems will pose no threat to any land masses except perhaps Bermuda. This is because the upper-level airflow and the jet stream have become primarily zonal. This will prevent any of these tropical cyclones from reaching the continental US. This upper-level airflow is an extension of what is happening in the North Pacific with the jet stream moving slowly to the south and now coming ashore just north of Vancouver Island.
While we have spent the summer complaining about our weak and non-typical Pacific High, it is now finally starting to round up and deepen. By the 19th of Sept, the high will be at 1031MB with a persistent lobe extending over the Pacific NW. This combination will continue to weaken storm systems as they approach our area. The 48hr Surface Chart shows a very strong low-pressure system (968MB) in the Gulf of Alaska which will produce hurricane-force winds for Kodiak Island. So, systems are getting stronger and eventually, they will reach our area however not until next weekend.
For wind this weekend you can expect the strongest breeze to be the westerlies in the Strait of JdF. Some of that will extend down the Sound on Saturday and become southwesterly in the San Juan Islands and Bellingham Bay. The breeze will continue in the Straits over the weekend however on Sunday conditions will be light over the central and south Sound.
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)