Have you ever heard a meteorologist talk about an “inversion”? Or maybe you read about a “low-level inversion” in a National Weather Service forecast discussion and wondered what that means? If so, you’re in luck. Let’s break down what a temperature inversion is, how it forms and “breaks”, and why it matters to wind sports…
So for days, my Baja forecast has been calling for very strong winds Sunday, Dec 13, 2020. But as the date finally arrived I was only calling for upper-teens to low 20’s for the La Ventana to Los Barriles area. Why? Well the expected high pressure developed in the 4 corners (where all the USA…
The Baja’s East Cape kiteboarding and windsurfing sites Los Barriles and La Ventana have seen almost 2 weeks of great wind. But on December 9, 2020, those winds came to a grinding halt. This occurred as 2 low-pressure systems blocked both of the Baja wind machines. In this animation of both satellite imagery and model output,…
The last week of November 2020 has see day of winds over 20 knots for La Ventana, Baja Sur, Mexico. The graphic below shows the large high pressure area that has changed shape and size a lot over this period but has stay centered in the Great Basin and 4 corners (where all the USA…
By WeatherFlow meteorologist Shea Gibson on November 30th, 2020. It is that time of the year when we see snowkiters coming out for action as snow hits the mountains. Although snow-kiting can be done is almost any wind direction, there are two main flows in the mountains we will discuss, being “Anabatic” and “Katabatic” winds….
By WeatherFlow meteorologist Shea Gibson on 11/22/2020. This is what cool Canadian northerly air diving down over warmer Atlantic waters looks like. It is called “horizonal convective rolling” or “cloud streeting” where cool, condensed air sinks over a more buoyant, warm and moist environment that is capped at the surface. The thermal lifting process then…
Strong NW winds are bringing waves crashing along the shores of Southern California beaches as the first storm of the winter season has arrived. Wind and kite surfers flocked to Southern California beaches on Friday afternoon as strong NW winds moved into the Bight. The strongest winds reached to Ventura and Northern Los Angeles beaches…
We hear the term “subsidence” is weather every once in awhile. But what is it? To understand that, we have to know that it is usually associated with robust areas, or “domes” of High pressure. Warm moist air that has been lifted high up in the atmosphere by cold fronts and/or central Low pressure(s) eventually…
As if 2020 could not get any worse, we now have Hurricane Zeta that formed rapidly today in the northwestern Caribbean and is moving across the Yucatan peninsula tonight. Current Winds: 80 mph Pressure: 983 mb’s Heading NW at 12mph From here, it will head northwards and eventually make landfall along the central northern Gulf…
This animation shows how large scale events distant California both vertically and horizontally can impact our temperatures and winds. Looking at this animation first notice the upper trough and upper ridge that are moving towards the Golden State from the west. Focus on the upper ridge which is a northward extending loop of upper-level winds at…