With Beryl striking Texas and then traveling north and dumping rain followed by blazing heat it has been quite a week for weather. In the Pacific Northwest, we have had great cruising weather and fun evening racing on the Sound. It was a bit warm earlier in the week but compared to the rest of the country, we’ll take it!
Today’s surface analysis chart still has the Pacific High trying to find itself a home for the summer, which is not good news for the folks going on the Pacific Cup. More on this later. For today the Pacific High is weak and elongated so not much stability yet with one high centered at 43N 138W at 1032MB, and a second one at 38N 173W at 1036 Mb. Between the two highs is the remnant of a weak (1026MB) low at 45N 145W, just enough to keep the Pacific High from strengthening and becoming more stable. This low shows up nicely on today’s Sat Pic.
This configuration will keep the weather in the Pacific NW just about perfect, for powerboating. We will get the afternoon westerlies in the Strait of JdF that will, at times, build to gale force so if your traversing that area, pay attention. The Strait of Georgia will also be breezy on Saturday with a NW wind to 25 knots. The rest of the Salish Sea will be light and variable.
The first start for the Pacific Cup will be on Monday the 15th and as we always say about staggered starts: Sometimes you eat the bear and sometimes the bear eats you. This year the early starts will be beating into a light SW breeze while the later starts especially for the big boats on the 18th will have a more traditional NW breeze of nearly 20 knots. As always, this will be a fun one to watch.
Enjoy the weekend, use the sunblock, remember that the water is still cold, the fire danger is still increasing, and don’t tell your friends in the Mid-West and East Coast about the weather we are enjoying. Have a safe one.
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)