After years of begging for more rain and snow, California is now getting plenty. Yesterday, some locations in Southern California got as much rain in one day as they get for the entire month of February. Once again, the Pacific NW is very lucky with some typically mild conditions. For January we got 6.31” of rain compared to an average of 5.76” so a good .55” ahead for the year. Remember also that a year ago we only got 3.09” in January. Please also note that for the 2nd of February, we are already .06” behind for the month. The upcoming week doesn’t look like there will be much added to the total. Just another gray, mild, week in the Pacific NW.
Today’s surface chart and sat pics show a trough of low pressure along the coast with a mild (990MB) low-pressure system just off the coast. This low will slide south along the coast over the weekend and dissipate, allowing a weak ridge of high pressure to build over the Salish Sea. As you can see from the 24hr (3 Feb) surface forecast chart there will be little pressure gradient over the Salish Sea so don’t expect much wind anywhere. A perfect day to go to the Boat Show. Sunday will be a better day for sailing, at least in the Central Sound as a nice northerly flow will be in place for the day slowly building over the afternoon and into the evening. We could have as much as 15-20 knots by mid-afternoon from Pt No Pt to Commencement Bay with very little rain. Note also in the sat pics the cool, unstable air behind the trough.
The 48hr (4 Feb) surface chart is, as usual, one of the most interesting as it shows the next low with attached frontal system headed into California before it slides up the coast and into the Pacific NW. This system will have dumped most of its moisture before it gets to our area. It is also interesting to note the Pacific High (1035MB) centered at 40N 150W which is almost a normal summertime location.
The Jet Stream remains zonal across most of the Pacific before becoming more meridional as it approaches our coast. It still comes ashore well south of us near the California/Mexican Border, this will keep the temps cool but at least above freezing in the lowlands. This will also help preserve our snowpack.
Enjoy the weekend and enjoy the Boat Show.
Ed. Note: I’ll be showing Swiftsure Yachts’ Allures 45.9 at Bell Street on Sunday afternoon. – Kurt Hoehne
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)