by Mike Godsey, mikeATiwindsurf.com If you saw last nights and today’s forecast you know we are in for epic winds today as a marine surge southerly winds battle strong NW winds. This morning the southerly marine surge winds win out but this afternoon powerful wind from the North Pacific High winds win decisively as…
by Mike Godsey, mikeATiwindsurf.com Pt. Isabel has, by far, the most interesting cruising ground for windsurfers and kiters in the Bay Area. Where can you round and island, speed sail in glassy waters, find large rolly swell while watching the Golden Gate and the San Francisco skyline. There is just one downside to Pt. Isabel….
by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com & Matt Sounders A few days ago I wrote a blog about the strange Cut-Off Low at ≈ 18,000 ft. feet between Hawaii and Baja that was tracking towards San Francisco where it would bring epic winds. Then how the Cut-Off Low would create explosive winds for the Gorge First –…
by Mike Godsey, mikeATiwindsurf.com Did you notice fast the sky changed today from crystal blue to cloudy? That event is something we have been forecasting for days. Clearly, something is about to happen. Remember the old days when it seemed that wind was just about the pressure gradient? And while the forecasts were crappy more…
by Mike Godsey So today looked like a pretty routine forecast with a shallow marine layer and a low pressure retracts back to the valley and I expected the pressure gradient to go up up and the NW winds curve in. With the strongest pressure gradient towards Stockton I expected the winds to peak in…
by Mike Godsey About a week ago I mentioned a wayward Cut-Off Low located between Hawaii and Baja up at ≈ 18,000 ft. At the time it looked like it would march towards Northern California and impact the Bay Area. Turn out I was right on. This animation shows the Cut-Off Low as well as…
by Mike Godsey, mikeATiwindsurf.com If you saw my 11:30 AM forecast you know I was not very bullish about the Isla Vista to Leadbetter winds: “IF you see the eddy die by early afternoon there a slight chance of mid to upper-teens for Isla Vista but weaker Leadbetter.” Eddies are always hard to forecast especially…
by Mike Godsey, mikeATiwindsurf.com Anytime you read in the forecast about the North Pacific High pushing a ridge into California north of Pismo you are likely to also read about NNW ocean winds along the Central California coast. And also a mention of northerly wind coming over the ridges and canyons in the area from…
The prevailing ocean winds in the San Francisco Bay Area from spring to fall are usually NW. True the Bay Area gets southerly storm winds at times but that is usually during the winter and early spring. And there are also WSW summer winds. But those winds are usually caused by northerly winds curving inside…
Winter of 2019-2020 vs. the NPH vs the unusual 4 corners high pressure. When it comes to mild winds in the mid to weak upper-teens wind Baja’s East Cape has several wind machines. These include 1. the mild local sea breezes created by the inland valleys. and 2. The mesoscale winds from the cooler Sea…