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corridor wind drought

 
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surfalex



Joined: 08 Aug 2008
Posts: 73

PostPosted: Mon Apr 17, 2017 7:21 pm    Post subject: corridor wind drought Reply with quote

Since September 31 there has been like 5 sailable days at the hatchery. That is almost 7 month now of no or very little wind.
Any weather geek out there that can explain why its been so sucky ?
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windfind



Joined: 18 Mar 1997
Posts: 1899

PostPosted: Tue Apr 18, 2017 9:27 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Since September 31 there has been like 5 sailable days at the hatchery. That is almost 7 month now of no or very little wind.
Any weather geek out there that can explain why its been so sucky ?


Hi surfalex,

The answer for the last several days is in the blog right below this one in the forum list.

Most of the time this winter we have been in a pattern like the one you see in this new blog:

http://blog.weatherflow.com/west-coast-wind-blog-waiting-for-the-return-of-strong-nw-winds/

Actually the pattern last fall, this winter and much of this spring was far worse than depicted in the 2nd blog. Basically an unending succession of storms that kept high pressure away from the west coast so sparse W. wind. Also with no high pressure ridges means infrequent high pressure in the Columbia Basin so fewer big east wind days.

This type of scenario is becoming more common since the upper level upper troughs and upper ridges that snake around the world guiding weather systems are, on the average, extending further south and further north than they have historically.

Think of an upper level wind snake with a gently curving course around the world VS. a wind snake that is making huge N. to S. curves around the world.

This more snaky course really slows the movement of upper level winds from W. to E. which means, on the average:

1. Weather patterns change much slower so you can have much longer periods of rain or snow or heat. (think the west coast this winter.)

2. Weather is more likely to be extreme since warmer air will sometimes be much further north than usual (check out the temps. at the N. pole this winter) or much cooler wet air will be much further south.

The above is grossly oversimplified but gets the idea across. Remember that where these upper troughs and ridges get stuck will vary from year. Just expect more variation from year to year than past decades.

It is easy to get all of this back to normal. We just need an UN mandate to install enough ice cube machines to get the arctic ice fields back to normal. Unfortunately that will be bad news for the incipient cruise industry that is finally able to ply the fabled NW passage.

However since it is actually the COLD AIR generated by the arctic that keeps the upper troughs and ridge behaving normally it might be more cost effective to just install a large a large number of air conditioners.

Mike Godsey
iwindsurf.com/ikitesurf.com
Weatheflow.com



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surfalex



Joined: 08 Aug 2008
Posts: 73

PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 12:12 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

thx for your explanation. Same " stuck " pattern happened a few yrs ago in the upper midwest, we had something like 90 straight days of below average temperatures. I do remember reading something down the same line as you described. Warmer polar region would cause the jet stream to break its traditional linear flow. instead we saw major dips and swings, hence extreme temperature abnormalities. I though 90 days was a very long time frame to be stuck in a pattern like that. But 7 month here now, holy ... this pattern better break soon.
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hilton08



Joined: 02 Apr 2000
Posts: 505

PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 10:47 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

I'd say that is pretty normal.
June, July, and August are peak months for the Hatchery winds.
Spring and Fall you generally need to head east of Mosier for the best wind.
Winter brings easterlies if you want to risk hypothermia (or head to Baja).
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isobars



Joined: 12 Dec 1999
Posts: 20935

PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2017 6:05 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

hilton08 wrote:
Winter brings easterlies if you want to risk hypothermia

They can also start in August at >100 degrees. One "expert" denied that based on standing in Portland, watching the trees, and declaring "No wind today in the Gorge". And just how well does that work when it's often blowing 4.2 at the Hatchery (or Rowena) and 7.0 at the Event site (or Doug's)?

BTW .. one July had two 12-day stretches of no wind in the corridor. It may be the best month statistically, but it's still hit and miss. And, MAN, but has the Fall been lame even out east several of the past few years!

The best "rule" for Gorge wind is that it obeys no rules.
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