By now, you’re likely curious about the underlying factors responsible for the persistent occurrence of eddies and southerly winds along the coast.
Actually, if you play north of the Bay Bridge, you have probably been too busy enjoying the WSW eddy wind to give it a thought.
But if you ply the waters of the Peninsula or coast, you may have given the eddy some thought and some choice swear words.
Notice how huge and “ugly” yesterday’s all-day eddy looks in the satellite animation above.
This “Big Eddy” is very unlike our normal small and infrequent eddies that look more like tiny hurricanes that politely die mid-afternoon.
The next two animations show how upper-level winds ≈18,000 feet set the stage for the eddy’s birth, life and death.
Mid-week, I will publish a blog explaining all this in more detail.
Then we can all await the death of the eddy this coming weekend.