First storm exits stage EAST afternoon. Next storm arrives stage WEST tomorrow night. Can the North Pacific High make a brief windy stage appearance between the two? by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com This will be a real race with the clock. The North Pacific High’s surface NW winds have to build fast before they die late tomorrow…
Hi Gang, As you can see in the video below Saturday still looks like the most promising strong wind day for Southern California. The bulk of North Pacific High’s surface NW winds will be shoved south of the Bay Area by a storm system. So the peak winds will be in the Southern California bight….
Why were the winds stronger inside the bay than along the coast Tuesday and then weaker Wednesday? by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com Don’t you just hate it when the forecast babbles on about “powerful pressure gradient to the Great Basin enhances……”? After all the Great Basin is hundreds of miles to the east in Nevada and Utah how can it impact our…
Watch the North Pacific High moving towards the Bay Area and then hitting the coast! by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com Int the first video you are at 18,000 feet. The green areas are heavy with moisture and potential rain. Notice the distinct southward extending loop in the upper level winds and clouds that are moving towards California…
Watch upper trough shove NPH to the south. by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com I will add text to these 2 videos tomorrow but right now focus on the upper trough at ≈ 18,000 ft. in the top video. Then in the second video notice how the inbound upper trough is causing the North Pacific High to push a ridge into the Pacific…
Bay Area dodges 2 wind killing bullets! But Southern California winds take one in the heart. by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com Normally on a day like this I use the phrase “it’s a race with the clock” but I was tired of that hackneyed wording and too lazy to dream up a replacement. But it was a race and…
Video: Why such a large and long lasting Catalina Eddy today? by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com The causes of the Catalina Eddy that so often shuts down Southern California winds while creating weak SSE wind are complex. And one of these days I will do a special blog covering that topic. But today let’s focus on why today’s Catalina Eddy is so…
Watch new North Pacific High approach the California coast. by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com The old wimpy North Pacific High is dying fast along with its useless eddy producing North wind. A new powerful North Pacific High is inbound with an ETA Monday afternoon or Tuesday. Here is the story story in images.
North Pacific High: why the coast and the Gorge ripped yesterday. by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com let’s take a quick look at the big picture behind yesterdays wind on the Oregon coast and in the Gorge. First, the simple concept of Gorge winds is the pressure gradient between the west and the east. But to forecast the development of…
Old crumpled NPH fades away while out in the pacific…. by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com Ok, enough of this! Where the hell is the North Pacific High and our NW wind? The Cut-Off Low has passed and that is suppose to mean NW clearing winds in Southern California and the Bay Area. Yet we are seeing Sherman Island SW winds…