It will be quite a quiet weekend over the Salish Sea after a very wet start to December with very little rain in the forecast until about Tuesday. Today’s sat pic is interesting for this time of the year because the entire coast from mid-Vancouver Island to Cabo San Lucas is relatively cloud-free. Winds may pick up from the north over the Sound on Sunday afternoon, however other than that it will be quite benign over the area. The great part of that is that the most popular cruising destinations will be next to empty with everyone getting ready for the holidays.
The surface charts show a moderate high-pressure system inland roughly aligned with the Rockies and a large low-pressure system in the Pacific off California. The upper-level charts show a meridional flow around this upper-level low associated with the surface low. This combination will keep conditions mild in our area.
The upper-level jet stream will slowly change over the next four days as it goes from coming ashore over our area to coming ashore over southern California. This will keep temps on the cool side with low temps still above freezing over the lowlands.
Overall, pretty mild conditions for this time of the year. Enjoy!
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)