It may be boring but it is still interesting. So we will certainly set a new record for the greatest number of days with a high temp of 70°F or greater in Oct. Sunday we may even hit 80°! Yikes.
It looks like the Sloop Tavern YC will have a nice turnout for the Fall Regatta tomorrow and there may even be a nice northerly. The only problem will be that it will be smokey and hazy with poor air quality. Wind will start light from the NNE and depending on how clear it is and how much heating occurs in the Central Sound, there may be a slightly stronger northwesterly in the afternoon.
We have the same situation as the last two weeks with a weak high-pressure system offshore, a weak thermal trough along the coast, and a weak high pressure in Eastern Washington. This creates an offshore flow which is what is bringing the smoke from the Bolt Creek fire into the Sound. Take a look at the Sat Pic for today and you will see that very clearly. The surface forecast chart for tomorrow and Sunday show little change in the pressure gradient other than it will continue to ease which will bring the high temperatures for Sunday.
The surface forecast chart for Sunday and Monday do show a weak frontal system approaching the coast however that will degrade as it gets closer. The other interesting feature is a developing low-pressure system at 40N 175W which will strengthen to 960mb and rapidly intensify on the 17th and 18th producing hurricane-force breeze as it moves into the Gulf of Alaska. The jet stream and the weak high off our coast will combine to keep that system away from us. It does however have quite an attached cold front which could bring our first rain into the area on or about the 21st or 22nd of October. We will see. We know summer had to end sometime!
Have a great Weekend!
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)