Bruce Hedrick

Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 2, 3, 4, and 5 Sept, Enjoy your Labor Day!

Bruce Hedrick Bruce's Briefs September 2, 2022September 2, 2022 0 Comment

Once again we are quite lucky compared to the rest of the country, especially the folks in California, who are baking, running out of water, and running out of electricity all at the same time, YIKES!

The Pacific High is in its weak phase now with a thermal trough inland. This will keep the onshore flow cooling us down, 57° F now here on the Straits, with some breezy westerlies tonight. After that conditions will remain light for the rest of the weekend over most of the Salish Sea with some 15-25 knot southerlies along the coast lasting until mid-day Sunday.

As a weak system approaches the coast on Saturday, there is the possibility of some brief drizzle and fog in the morning. This will not last long. High pressure will rebuild over the area Monday and Tuesday.

The sat pic for today shows the marine layer along the coast and the approaching system. It also shows the fire in Central Oregon with the smoke going north until it gets to the Columbia River and meets the onshore flow coming up the Gorge when it blows the smoke into Eastern Washington.

The other chart of interest today is the 500mb, upper level, chart which shows a small, cut-off low off our coast. It won’t last long but the upper-level charts also show the jet-stream starting to move south. This will also allow more storm systems to move into our area from the Gulf of Alaska. Just not this weekend.

Be safe, and enjoy the weekend.

Bruce Hedrick

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)

Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 26, 27, 28, and 29 August. The end of Summer approaches, enjoy it while you can!

Bruce Hedrick Bruce's Briefs August 26, 2022August 26, 2022 0 Comment

Plenty of sailing going on this weekend and the weather will co-operate, certainly on Saturday. The surface analysis chart and the sat pic show the reasons for our late start of sun today. Today started cloudy with some light mist and tomorrow will start the same way. Onshore flow will increase today bringing strong flow down the Strait of JdF and strong NW flow in the Strait of Georgia. Look for Small Craft Advisories and potentially gale warnings. This will continue through the weekend with the gradient easing on Sunday.

Sunday will see an easing of the pressure gradient over the entire area with lighter NW breeze coming to the coast and the Strait of JdF. For the Central and South Sound conditions will remain light and variable for the most of the day until a weak northerly fills down the Sound in the early evening.

The other charts of interest are the 500mb or upper level charts which show the jet stream starting to make its way south. This will allow more storms out of the Gulf of Alaska to make their way into the Salish Sea. Something to watch.

Enjoy the weekend!

Bruce Hedrick

Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16 Aug. Mixed bag for the weekend, Northern Century doesn’t look all bad except…….

Bruce Hedrick Bruce's Briefs August 12, 2022August 12, 2022 1 Comment

Our better-than-average summer will continue this weekend with some areas getting some drizzle tomorrow from a weak but persistent low-pressure system just offshore. This will keep a weak onshore flow over the area, increasing in the Straits tonight as a trough moves onshore. This will be good news for the Northern Century Race as the fleet should have a downwind start in 5-15 knots of SW and a beautiful full moon to sail by.

The rest of the Salish Sea will have light air but sunny conditions on Saturday and light air but cloudy on Sunday. Still better than most of the rest of the USA.

In today’s sat pic you can see how clear it is over our area however right offshore you can see that weak low-pressure system that will bring S-SW breeze to the Northern Century Race. Also visible in the sat pic is the smoke from the fire in northern California. In today’s surface analysis chart you will also note that the Pacific High continues to be weak and unstable as it is now being pushed around by the next low with an attached frontal system coming across the Gulf of Alaska.

As this weak trough moves onshore tonight and through the area tomorrow it will have the effect of easing the pressure gradient over our waters. For the Northern Century Race you will want to finish before 1100hrs Saturday morning or you will spend some time going very slow until the onshore flow comes back down the Straits in the early evening on Saturday.

Tides aren’t terrible for the Race however the lack of a pressure gradient combined with the big ebb on Saturday lasting until Saturday mid-afternoon will stall the onshore flow in the Straits.

Enjoy the weekend, use your sunblock and be safe.

Bruce Hedrick

Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 5,6,7, and 8 August. Seafair, Shaw Island, and Down the Sound.

Bruce Hedrick Bruce's Briefs August 5, 2022August 5, 2022 0 Comment

We did get a trace of rain yesterday and the temps did cool down to unseasonably cool. Don’t worry it’s going to be great weather this weekend and back to warmish Monday and Tuesday.

The Pacific High, while still weak (1034mb and weakening), is providing us some protection from the lows and attached frontal systems coming across the North Pacific. This is helping to keep the snowpack intact and the lakes and rivers at good levels. What will be interesting to watch is to see just how far to the east the Pacific High will move over the next three days. This will help the folks sailing back from Pacific Cup and Vic Maui. It looks like Zvi and Rage will make it back by Sunday. They will be sailing in some nice breeze from the NW-NNW as they approach the coast.

As the sat pic and surface analysis charts show today we have high pressure over us and this will keep a weak onshore flow (Mother Nature’s air conditioning) in place well into next week. So while temps may approach 90F during the day, it will cool at night.

With weak onshore flow, we’ll have generally light air over the area, perfect for hydroplane racing, and not so good for sailboat racing. The breeze in Admiralty Inlet and the Central Sound will tend to pick up from the NW in the afternoon before easing after midnight.

Stay hydrated, use lots of sunblock, and remember that the water in the Sound and the lakes is still very cool so cold water shock and hypothermia can still be issues.

Bruce Hedrick

Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 29, 30, 31, and 1 Aug. Hot summer weather is here but relief is in sight!

Bruce Hedrick Bruce's Briefs July 29, 2022July 29, 2022 0 Comment

Our very convoluted weather pattern is still in place over the North Pacific and the Pacific NW. True we’ve had plenty of days in the 90s but compared to the rest of the country, we are very lucky. Plus the snowpack is holding up, barely, and the fire danger is just now starting to creep up so time to be extra cautious in the outdoors even when you’re on the boat. We do not need a California fire situation here.

As you can see from the surface charts, we still have high pressure offshore and low-pressure inland. Thus the pattern we have seen this week is going to continue into early next week before temps drop back into the normal summer range. We’ve had a very consistent pattern of light air in the morning then as the temps rise inland, cooler air is drawn down the Strait of JdF, Admiralty Inlet, and then down the Sound bringing our temps to the 60s overnight. The Strait has the potential for Small Craft Advisories in the late afternoon and evening.

The main difference this weekend will be areas of dense fog forming overnight. You can always check the UW Western Washington surface conditions chart(https://a.atmos.washington.edu/cgi-bin/latest.cgi?sfcplots-wwa), For each station on the left side, there is a red number over a blue number. The red number is the current temp and the blue number is the dew point. When those two numbers are the same, you will get fog.

The interesting charts for today are the 72hr, 1 Aug chart which shows the weak cold front which will bring our temps for next week back to “normal”. The other interesting feature on that chart is our elusive Pacific High finally starting to strengthen (1036mb) and become more round in shape. The bad news about that is the trip home for the Pacific Cup and Vic-Maui boats will be a long slog close reaching and beating.

The other chart is the 96hr, 2 Aug chart which shows not one but two hurricanes that have formed in the eastern Pacific, Frank and Georgette. They won’t last but the Pacific north of 20N is continuing to warm and we aren’t even to the active part of hurricane season yet.

Have a great weekend.

Bruce Hedrick

Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 22, 23, 24, and 25 July. Break out the fans and AC, the heat is coming.

Bruce Hedrick Bruce's Briefs, Uncategorized July 22, 2022July 22, 2022 0 Comment

Not as bad as last year but it will get your attention starting on Tuesday when it will get to 90°F. Wednesday will be the warmest at 93°F and after that it will slowly back off to the low 80s by the 1^st of August. Compared to the rest of the country, we shouldn’t complain.

The surface analysis chart and sat pic for today show our weak (1030mb) Pacific High elongated from 38N 158W to 43N 146W. The sat pic gives us a nice view of Post Tropical Cyclone Estelle at 23N 130W as it continues to degrade. Most of the Pacific Cup boats have finished, with the PacNW contingent representing us very nicely. The Vic-Maui boats are finally starting to finish with five boats due in today but some boats are still 700 miles out. That’s 16 and 18 days since they started and the Awards Banquet is tomorrow. As we predicted, the later starting big boats in each fleet totally dominated the racing with both Pyewacket and Peligroso sweeping all the honors.

With high pressure offshore and low-pressure inland, we have an onshore flow that will peak this afternoon and into tomorrow morning with westerly gale force winds in the Strait of JdF. There will be some trickle-down northerlies of 15-20 knots in Admiralty Inlet and Puget Sound in the early evening with less wind in the rest of the Salish Sea.

By mid-Saturday morning conditions will have eased over the entire area. This will hold until mid-afternoon Saturday when the onshore flow will once again start down the Straits. This will bring westerly winds of 15-25 knots to the eastern end of the Straits easing by midnight,

Sunday morning the pressure gradient will have eased bringing light conditions to everywhere except the Strait of Georgia which will see a NW breeze of 15-25 knots coming down from Campbell River. A weak onshore flow will develop in the Strait of JdF in the late afternoon and early evening with light northerlies in the central Sound.

Have a great weekend, use sunblock, and be safe on the water.

Bruce Hedrick

Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 15, 16, 17, 18, July. Another great weekend, just don’t get up early tomorrow!

Bruce Hedrick Bruce's Briefs July 15, 2022July 15, 2022 0 Comment

Our great weather continues with another perfect weekend for boating. The only bad news is that we are behind for rainfall this month. So far we’ve only had .16” compared to an average on this date of .32” so just ½ of normal. We are still 5” ahead for the year and compared to some parts of the country where there is catastrophic flooding or a catastrophic drought, we are pretty lucky.

Today’s surface analysis, 500MB, and sat pic show what is keeping us in this zone. We still have a weak (1031MB) Pacific High that continues to bedevil the Vic-Maui and Pac Cup racers by not stabilizing and being way west of where it should be. Then off of Ketchikan, we have a weak (1006MB) low-pressure system with an extensive attached cold front right off our coast that will make landfall this evening and bring patchy rainfall to the Salish Sea tomorrow morning until it just breaks apart. This low will continue to keep us cool and slightly overcast as it is reinforced by an upper-level cut-off low-pressure system. See the 500MB charts.

This configuration of highs and lows will keep the onshore flow bringing Mother Nature’s air conditioning to the area. Saturday will see a building westerly to 20 knots in the Strait of JdF and a building northerly to Puget Sound. This will continue on Sunday except the Sound will remain light and variable most of the day. By Monday, the high-pressure systems will be firmly in control of the weather around here and the wind will remain light.

We mentioned Hurricane Darby last week and as of today it has weakened and is passing south of the Big Island. Wait, there’s more, Hurricane Six has formed off of Central America with winds of 85 knts and gusts to 105. It should become the fifth named storm of the year shortly. Yes, the Pacific Hurricane season is very active and will make life interesting for Hawaii at some point.

Have a great weekend and use that sunblock!

Bruce Hedrick

Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 8, 9, 10, and 11 July. Perfect Cruising Wx, not so good for racing, especially if you’re trying to get to Hawaii.

Bruce Hedrick Bruce's Briefs July 8, 2022July 8, 2022 0 Comment

Sure enough, after the 5^th of July, summer has finally made an appearance in the Pacific NW. We will definitely take our weather compared to the rest of the country with its sweltering temperatures and wild thunderstorms.

The Pacific High is still weak (1030MB) and well south and well to the west of what should be its normal position. This is resulting in very slow Vic-Maui and Pacific Cup Races. If this instability continues it will be difficult for some of the Vic-Maui fleet to make the time limit. The Pacific Cup is also off to a very slow start but starting further south does have its advantages. The other interesting feature on today’s surface analysis chart is the second named storm (Bonnie) of the eastern Pacific hurricane season is now almost to the latitude of the Big Island of Hawaii but only at 120W. The water is still too cool to sustain development so it shouldn’t affect any of the races heading to the Islands. We will continue to watch this storm. See the 8 July Sat Pic.

Overall, today’s surface chart is a real mish mash of pressure systems with a weak 1018Mb low almost directly in the path of the racers with a secondary high-pressure system (1021MB) just to the SE of the low and another weak low (1017MB) at 40N and 133W. Off of our coast is a weak high-pressure system (1020MB) with a weak low-pressure system in the Gulf of Alaska with an attached frontal system that will dissipate off our coast on Saturday night and into Sunday morning. With a weak high offshore and lower pressure in eastern Washington, we will have weak onshore flow with the strongest breeze in the Strait of JdF with some breeze filling down the Sound late Saturday afternoon and into Saturday night. Conditions will ease overnight as the front passes over the Salish Sea. Sunday will see light conditions over most waters until late Sunday afternoon when onshore flow will bring 15-20 knots of westerly down the Straits.

The other interesting chart is the 10 July 500MB which shows not one but two cut-off upper-level lows which will continue to impact our weather by keeping the jet stream well to the north.

Be safe and enjoy our summer!

Bruce Hedrick

Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 24, 25, 26, and 27 June. Summer will Finally make an Appearance

Bruce Hedrick Bruce's Briefs June 24, 2022June 29, 2022 0 Comment

This is going to be a great weekend with clear skies and warming temperatures. Then get ready for this, there will be plenty of wind on the Central Sound from Pt No Pt to Tacoma. Like 15-25 knots of NNW breeze on Saturday and 15-20 knots of NNW on Sunday. This will be the first time this year we’ll be able to sail in shorts and t’s. Not bad, just remember the Sound is still very cool and if you go in, hypothermia is still a very real possibility. As we say at the Safety at Sea Seminars, “It’s not a question of when you put your life jacket on, it’s a just a question of when you can take it off.”

The reason for this great weather can be seen on today’s surface analysis chart and sat pic. We have a weak high-pressure system(1026MB) off the coast and a weak trough of low pressure on the other side of the Cascades. This will create onshore flow today and nice northerlies to develop over the inland waters. In today’s Sat Pic you can see the leading edge of the next frontal system that’s attached to a weak (1013MB) low-pressure system at 46N 145W. You should also note that this system is attached to weak upper-level cut-off low pressure on the 500MB Charts. Since it is cut off from the jet stream not much is there to push this system around and it will gradually just drift to our coast.

Starting tomorrow a stronger high-pressure system will develop in Eastern Washington and Eastern BC with a thermal trough of low-pressure developing along the coast. This will bring offshore flow to the area and the warmest temperatures of the year. It’s not a heat dome like last year and what is currently over the central US setting a plethora of record high-temperature readings. Instead, by late Monday and early Tuesday, another weak high-pressure system will build in the Pacific and that low mentioned above will drift over us, and behind that onshore flow will bring Mother Nature’s air conditioning to the Salish Sea.

It does remain to see if the high developing at 40N 150W will become our dominating Pacific High and set up to provide a fast ride to Hawaii for the Pacific Cuppers and the Vic-Maui. We will just keep watching.

Have a great weekend, use that sunblock, and stay safe.

Bruce Hedrick

Bruce’s Briefs: Wx for 17, 18, 19, and 20 June. R2AK Continues…..

Bruce Hedrick Bruce's Briefs, r2ak June 17, 2022June 17, 2022 0 Comment

Our wet and cool June continues, probably until the 5^th of July. Today’s surface analysis shows the Pacific High(1032mb) at 38N and 150W with a real mashup of weak high and low-pressure systems surrounding the Pacific NW. The overall effect of this will be an increase in the onshore flow today which will gradually ease on Saturday. This means that by tomorrow morning there will still be a flow of breeze through the Chehalis Gap and down the Strait of JdF. As usual, it has to meet somewhere and that will be the central Sound.

The really interesting part of these surface charts is what effect this will have on the R2AK. Three teams have decided to go up the outside of Vancouver Island, which may have looked questionable yesterday however as the pressure gradient eases over the inland waters including the Strait of Georgia, the only wind may be outside Vancouver Island. The bad part of this may be that there will be plenty of wind, 15-30 knots, from the NW from the Brooks Peninsula to Barkley Sound starting late this afternoon. This will continue until into early Saturday while easing to 15-20 from the NW, which will mean a hard beat up the Island until conditions ease late Saturday and into Sunday. The inside boats will have 10-15 knots of NNW breeze until just after midnight when it will go very light. This will last until late Saturday night and into early Sunday morning. This will be a fun one to watch.

If you’re doing Pacific Cup or Vic-Maui this year you will also want to watch Hurricane Blas and Tropical Storm Celia. Only a month into Hurricane season and we are already on our third named storm. Currently, conditions do not favor the further development of these systems however the Pacific is warming so this could change.

The other interesting chart is the 96hr surface forecast chart which has the Pacific High setting up nicely at 40N 140W which if this trend continues could mean a record-setting pace for the Pacific Cup.

Enjoy the weekend.

Bruce Hedrick

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