by Weatherflow Meteorologist, Kerry Challoner Anderson
Last night I was out walking near sunset, checking out the marine layer development north of Santa Cruz, California when I noticed a Kite Surfer struggling to make it back to shore.
The winds were quickly fading as the temperature over the land cooled off. High pressure over the Pacific had strengthen and moved closer to shore which turned the winds along the California shoreline more northerly. Consequently the coastal winds were well offshore at Santa Cruz.
It was interesting to take a look at the observations at this time and see how quickly the wind dropped as the temperature dropped, which showed that the coastal winds were not in play and the only fuel for the Bay winds were sea breezes. Once the temperature cooled over the land the convection cell vanished and the winds died.
Fortunately rescue crews arrived just before the light faded to provide assistance back to shore.
