Good eddy, bad eddy. by Mike Godsey, mike AT iwindsurf.com There are several scenarios for creating micro to mesoscale eddies. Two of the more common factors is a very localizeed low pressure area and wind shear as wind rounds a point or cape. Southern California kiters and windsurfers are very familiar with the wind killing Catalina Eddy…
Strong pressure gradient to the Great Basin! by Mike Godsey So we all learned in on-the-beach meteorology 101 that the pressure gradient to Sacramento is critical in Sherman Island winds. Then in advanced beach lore you may have heard that the gradient towards Redding is also important in setting up the SW flow that Sherman Island…
Southerly winds at the ocean buoys! by Mike Godsey Strong NNW winds from the North Pacific High blow just west of our ocean buoys today but with low pressure to over the far North Bay and weak NNW winds aloft it was clear the last few days we were heading in to eddy conditions. The…
How can that happen? by Mike Godsey Check out today’s Gorge forecast. Strong Easterly and strong Westerly winds along the Columbia? Since winds are largely driven by pressure gradients how can you have two different pressure gradients at the same time? Looking at the isobar map you can see there is low pressure off the…
Pressure gradient to N.Central Valley vs. gradient to Bakersfield limits southerly surge winds. by Mike Godsey Hi cTuna, Funny you should ask! Looking at the thermal trough along the California coast and the low pressure off Arcata conditions almost looked ripe for a strong marine surge. Even the ocean buoy winds were southerly. But the…
This should mean strong winds for most of the Bay Area and Southern California, but… by Mike Godsey Take a look at my forecasts for today, April 19, for the Bay Area and Southern California. Both forecasts call for strong wind as a combo of the North Pacific High’s surface NW winds and a strong pressure gradient…
Southerly storm track and surface ridges are the culprits. by Mike Godsey, mikeATiwindsurf.com So far this spring there has been lots of passing storms but rather sparse NW clearing winds in the wake of storms. Part of the problem is that the storm track is a bit further south than typical this spring. And that tends…
North Pacific High pushes a ridge inland and coast winds weaken. by Mike Godsey I will be updating this blog with text..tomorrow. But this animation should give you the story about today’s (April 12) strong NW wind and why we will probably forecasting weaker winds the next few day.
Quick shift from WNW to SW winds. by Mike Godsey Looking at the ocean buoys winds today you would think that NW clearing winds are ramping up. But you would be thinking wrong. (But thinking right if you launch along the Central California coast, Southern California or Baja!) This animation shows today’s wind picture. First,…
NW winds retreat to Baja waters then return…barely. Golden Gate photo and text by Mike Godsey As you have probably noticed the North Pacific High’s surface NW ocean winds have been weakening in Bay Area the last several days. And if my extended forecast for tomorrow is correct we completely lose the winds tomorrow. This is…