The plight of the North Pacific High

by Mike Godsey

It happens every spring. After days of useful NW wind curving into the Southern California and Bay Area coastal windsurfing and kiting sites we enter a long wind drought.

At these times wind users may almost feel like buzzards as they await the return of their prey… wind!

The most obvious cause is the passage of storms but why is it that the fabled NW clearing winds do not redeploy after these storms? This animation will help see the issue.

Notice how close one storm follow the previous storm. This acts to keep the North Pacific High far SW of the California coast. Finally about next Thursday it makes a lunge to our coast.