It’s pretty hard to ignore the rain we’ve had so far in December. Last week we said we could have the same amount of rain for all of November in the first two weeks of December. We were wrong. Last month we had 5.71” of rain, in the first week of December, we had 5.78”, with more on the way. Luckily, the freezing level is dropping so tonight and tomorrow we’ll be adding to our snowpack in both the Olympics and the Cascades.
If you’re headed out on the water this weekend, chances are there will be wind with some places getting way more than others. The places where you’ll be dealing with gale warnings on Saturday will be the usual suspects, the coast and the eastern end of the Strait of JdF where winds could be from the SE at over 40 knots.
As you work your way down Admiralty Inlet and into the north Sound expect winds to be from the SSE at 15-30 knots. In the Center Sound for Snowbird #2 the breeze will be from the SSW in the 12-22 knot range. In the San Juan Islands and Bellingham Bay expect SSE breeze of 20-35 knots.
For the Hope Island Race out of Olympia, the breeze will be lighter but there will still be a nice southerly, southwesterly breeze of 8-20 knots depending upon where you are on the course. It will be challenging but fun! Oh, and did I mention rain? There will be plenty of that over the Salish Sea all day on Saturday.
Sunday will see an easing of conditions over the entire area with some breeze in the morning hours but getting light by midday and into the afternoon. Rain will also ease. Another front will come through the area on Wednesday with some drying possible through next weekend.
Regardless of where you are, always check the current conditions on your VHF before you head out and if there’s any doubt, wait it out.
Have a great and safe 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)