Poor August winds and upper level high pressure by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com Perhaps you have noticed all the cranky comments perhaps brought on by the mostly crappy August winds. So for diversion let’s take a look at some of the major factors behind this wind drought. Perhaps using our brains will reduce the bile. Take a…
Celebrate or lament the death of the August 17 to 22 Cut-Off Low? by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com The formation of Cut-Off Lows are fascinating and you can see this one being created by scrolling down through recent blogs. But today, August 17, we are seeing the death of the Cut-Off Low that hovered near the Bay Area at ≈ 18,000 ft….
Cut-Off Low returns to its birth location. by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com Way back on Aug. 18 I posted this unusual satellite video of an upper trough at ≈ 18,000 ft. turning into a Cut-Off Low just west of the Bay Area and deepening the marine layer clouds and creating SW flow just aloft: https://blog.weatherflow.com/?p=14413…
Cut-Off Low unexpectedly kills Southern California coast winds. by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com The forecast was clear that the winds were in jeopardy today due to a nagging vague Catalina Eddy and the threat of clouds forming due to a Cut-Off Low over the S. F. Bay Area. But nothing in the forecast prepared you for the almost complete lack of wind. So what…
Cut-Off Low moves towards Bay Area by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com Today, Saturday August 17 saw the strongest coast NW winds in the Bay Area in many weeks with the Waddell sensor hitting 28 knots and many sites inside the bay seeing winds over 20 knots. The first image to the right shows how the huge dome of high pressure between California and…
Most models have this upper trough turning in to a Cut-Off Low by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com
Video: nagging upper trough @ ≈ 18,000 ft. brings unending SW flow. by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com For almost 2 weeks now a deep marine layer and SW flow has dominated the Bay Area wind. While the North Pacific High’s surface NW wind has seldom made an appearance. This pattern favors Sherman Island and the East Bay but it has mostly killed the coast winds…
Cut-Off Low at ≈ 18,000 ft. deepens Southern California marine layer by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com The Southern California coast wind picture does not look very promising until at least Tuesday and then improves Wednesday. Why? Because the marine layer clouds will be deep and lingering while the inland valleys will be relatively cool so the pressure gradient from the ocean to the valleys will be…
Watch Video of an upper trough jazzing the Gorge winds while a Cut-Off Low does the same in the Bay Area. by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com Today the weather pattern far above the pacific is perfect for creating strong winds in the Columbia River Gorge and San Francisco’s Sherman Island. Before looking at the video let’s identify the main actors…
This is the type of eddy that can kill Crissy and Peninsula winds but…. by Mike Godsey, mike@iwindsurf.com Typically eddies of this type form just west of the Golden Gate and keep SW flow in the Bodega to Half Moon Bay area. Fortunately for Crissy, Coyote & 3rd. kiters and sailors this eddy will only kill the Bodega winds….