Puget Sound Marine Weather

It is not going to be one of the greatest of all time Labor Days but it’s not going to be a washout either and we are certainly not staring Hurricane Dorian in the face like south Florida. What we do have is yet another unusual weather pattern with a weak ridge of high-pressure over the Salish Sea that is sandwiched between a couple of weak low-pressure systems. This will bring a weak onshore flow down the Strait of JdF until another weak frontal system impacts the coastal buffer system and deteriorates. The current surface winds have already shifted to the pre-frontal southeasterly phase along the coast and in the Strait of Georgia. After this system passes another weak high-pressure system will build offshore bringing another weak onshore flow to the area and some warm, summer-like temperatures to the area starting early next week and lasting until next weekend.

Generally speaking, the pressure gradient is going to be very weak and that will result in light air over the area. The other interesting feature is in the 500MB charts which show a persistent cut-off upper level low pressure system which will just hang around giving us cloudy and cool conditions but not a lot of moisture.

Regardless, crabbing is still excellent in the San Juan’s and in the Straits, just be sure to check the regulations to make sure it’s still open in your area.

Enjoy the weekend!    

Kurt Hoehne

Kurt grew up racing and cruising in the Midwest, and has raced Lasers since the late 1970s. Currently he is a broker at Swiftsure Yachts. He has been Assistant Editor at Sailing Magazine and a short stint as Editor of Northwest Yachting. Through Meadow Point Publishing he handles various marketing duties for smaller local companies. He currently is partners on a C&C 36 which he cruises throughout the Northwest. He’s married to the amazing Abby and is father to Ian and Gabe.

Just when we thought summer had arrived…..oh well, it is after all the Pacific Northwest. I’m not complaining, as I’ve said before, the longer we can keep things cooler with just a bit of moisture, the longer we can keep the wildfires at least somewhat at bay.

Click on any image to enlarge.

This weekend’s weather picture shows that the Pacific High is still pretty much a no-show for this summer with more low-pressure systems lurking off the coast and upper charts continuing to show a persistent upper level low off our coast. Then there is also a large upper level cut-off low off of eastern Siberia that will continue to drive smoke from their wildfires into the upper atmosphere and brilliantly color our sunsets. This pattern will provide a weak onshore flow over the weekend with the possibility of light rain places, widely scattered places. There will also be a bit of a stronger southerly flow over the San Juan’s on Sunday morning so coming south might get a little lumpy. For tonight and tomorrow expect small craft advisories in the central and eastern Strait of Jdf with lighter wind everywhere else.

The Moore 24’s started racing today in a light NNE which always provides challenging conditions off of Shilshole. Tomorrow will bring lighter NNE in the morning with a nice N to NW breeze filling down the Sound in the early afternoon. To be safe, sail your best races on Saturday as wind may be tough to come by on Sunday.

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)

Last night was certainly interesting with a moderately strong cold front that moved quickly through the Salish Sea reminding us that while it may have been in the 80’s yesterday, there is always an opportunity for rain and wind. The cold front brought the temps down just a bit and left us with a cloud cover this morning which by now has almost totally burned off. This will now be the start of a great Seafair weekend and if you’re not on the Lake, you’re going to have a very enjoyable time out on the Salish Sea.

This is confirmed by both the surface analysis chart and today’s satellite picture which show the remnants of the cold front and yet another series of low-pressure systems lined up offshore and headed for the Pacific NW. The Pacific High is still not “normal,” that is, it’s not in the right place and it still is no where near the pressure it should be. As a result, there are now a series of thermal low-pressure systems forming east of the Cascades which combined with the weak high-pressure system in the Pacific will keep an onshore flow coming down the Strait of JdF and generally keeping the weather warm but not hot. In other words, another great summer weekend in the Pacific NW that will carry into next week.

Also assisting in keeping our weather on the moderate side, are the two, weak, upper level lows showing on the 500MB chart for today. One is off our coast, the other is a cut-off low over Vancouver Island. This will bring occasional morning cloudiness over the area and generally act as a lid to keep things from getting too warm. All good.

Conditions for the Salish Sea will tend to be light with very little gradient, with some breeze in the Eastern Strait of JdF in the late afternoon and evening hours diminishing after midnight.

Use the sunblock, be safe, and enjoy our glorious summer.

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)

This is beginning to sound like a broken record. A weak high-pressure system offshore, located south of its “normal” position with an upper level low with an attached and very weak frontal system approaching the coast. As this front approaches the coast, it will encounter the coastal buffer zone and break apart but only after bringing some clouds and maybe some very light rain early tomorrow morning after which we will resume our lovely summer. A much nicer summer than sweltering in the eastern US or Europe where new high temperature records smashed the old ones yesterday. Imagine 108⁰ F in Paris, a city with very little air conditioning.

The surface analysis chart and satellite picture for today provide a very clear overview of what we have going for us. The other interesting chart is the 500MB for today and the 30^th of July which show a persistent upper level low off the upper BC coast. That, combined with two cutoff low pressure systems in the central and western Pacific, explains the Surface forecast chart for the 30^th of July which shows an unprecedented number of low pressure systems lined up across the Pacific. In fact, this looks way more like a winter picture than a summer scheme with eight low-pressure centers and only two high-pressure centers. The main difference between now and the winter is that all of these lows are relatively weak.

So just like the last couple of weeks there will be a weak onshore flow that will bring a westerly flow down the Straits with stronger breeze in the late afternoons and into the early evenings before easing after midnight. The rest of the Salish Sea will, for the most part, see light air with the possibility of stronger breeze in the Central Sound in the same time frame as the Straits.

Enjoy the weekend and be safe out there.    

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)