3rd. UPDATE with new Video: NPH RETURNS!

[windfind]

Hi Gang,

For today's update now with video scroll to the [b]bottom to see the NPH preparing to visit California waters Monday and Tuesday.[/b]

The post below is from July 9 and shows the North Pacific High vacationing in the Gulf of Alaska.

July 9: If you are smart and/or free you spent the weekend at Sherman Island sampling the epic wind there.

But if your favorite waters are Waddell, Coyote or 3rd. Ave. you are probably beginning to wonder what happened to the mild NW wind that is suppose to hit the coast and curve into the Peninsula during the summer.

You have probably noticed our frequent mention about the absence of the North Pacific High from our waters and wondered exactly where does something over a 1000 miles in diameter hide out.

Today the answer is simple as you can see in the animation below. The North Pacific High is centered in the Gulf of Alaska and if you hopped a sea plane to remote parts of the Canadian coast you would find great NW wind.

Why is the North Pacific High way up in the Gulf of Alaska. Now that is complex but it probably has something to do with that persistent upper ridge and the "blob" of warm water you have been reading about.

The good news is that when the North Pacific High vacates our waters an eddy may form as you can see in the animation which helps the East Bay and Sherman Island wind.

When will the North Pacific High's surface NW winds reappear? Around Monday July 13.

Mike Godsey
iwindsurf.com/ikitesurf.com

[rswabsin]

Mike,

Does the current position of the NPH in the Gulf of Alaska also factor into the lack of the typical trade wind pattern that the north shore of Maui has been experiencing over the past few weeks?

Rob

[windfind]

Hi Rob,

I have not been tracking the North Pacific High in Hawaiian waters recently but given its position the last few weeks I would imagine that the trade winds would be modest.

Mike
iwindsurf.com/ikitesurf.com

[ShreddinEd]

Neil Patrick Harris is da bomb.

[fxop]

I guess I finally understand that Maui trade winds derive from a sub-tropical high or ridge that is supposed to sit at about 30N, ie not directly from our NPH:

"The strong persistence of winds in the summer months over the general region of Hawaii can be explained by the semi-permanent subtropical high pressure ridge that sits to the northeast of the island in the summer season, consistently driving northeast trade winds over the island chain. The lower persistence of winds that occurs in the winter months results from the occasional interruption of trade-wind weather caused by various synoptic disturbances, such as the intrusion of upper-level troughs, midlatitude frontal systems, and kona storms [e.g.,Chu et al., 1993]."

Journal of Geophysical Research: Atmospheres
16 June 2012
"Changes of the prevailing trade winds over the islands of Hawaii and the North Pacific", Jessica A. Garza, Pao-Shin Chu, Chase W. Norton, Thomas A. Schroeder

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2011JD016888/full

For old time's sake, the iwindsurf July 2012 from the archives.

Here is today's pressure map for the Pacific, showing a high at 30N, but maybe a little too far west.

fxop

[windfind]

Hi fxop,

The North Pacific High has lots of different names in different books. It more technically it is a type of semi permanent sub tropical high pressure with ridges that may extend towards Hawaii and the west coast. I like to use the less technical name North Pacific High since it locates it geographically and makes more sense to the average consumer.

Your weather map shows the high pressure in an unusual place but it is still the same North Pacific High.

No matter what name you give it this beast moves N. and S with the seasons and in the summer gets bumped a bit northward or southward by passing upper trough and ridges. So both trades and NW wind build and fade. And at times it breaks down and then reforms anew.

When in the right position it makes both the Trades winds in the tropical pacific and the N to NW winds of the USA west coast.

Mike Godsey
iwindsurf.com

[windfind]

Hi Gang,

The North Pacific High, long absent from our waters, has reformed NE of Hawaii and will impact our winds in the next day or so.

These will not be the powerful NW winds of spring since the winds aloft are weak the pressure gradient to Bakersfield will be modest but they will definitely improve the winds on the Peninsula and the Waddell zone.

Mike Godsey
iwindsurf.com

[2bluehawaiins]

Thanks Mike,
Hoping the wind will make it's way to Tomales.