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UPDATED Blog: Standing Wind Waves make Benicia et. al. RIP

 
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windfind



Joined: 18 Mar 1997
Posts: 1902
PostPosted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 7:57 pm    Post subject: UPDATED Blog: Standing Wind Waves make Benicia et. al. RIP Reply with quote
Hi Gang,

See blog update below.

Today Benicia had AVERAGE wind of 29 and my forecast last night called for very strong UP AND DOWN  winds for Benicia.

As you know is a very beautiful town and one of the most attractive places to kite in the Bay Area. But most of the time the wind there is in the upper-teens range not upper 20's

This animated blog tells the story of the winds today and the role of "Standing Waves":


https://blog.weatherflow.com/west-coast-wind-blog-standing-wind-waves-bring-powerful-up-and-down-winds-to-san-francisco-bay-area/

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

Bay AreaWaveStrong975.2020-06-15 14_43_21.gif
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Bay AreaWaveStrong975.2020-06-15 14_43_21.gif


Last edited by windfind on Tue Jun 16, 2020 9:38 am; edited 1 time in total
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jmarik



Joined: 23 Apr 2012
Posts: 13
PostPosted: Mon Jun 15, 2020 8:43 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote
Hi Mike,
Does this explain why 3rd ave channel was ripping while SFO was reading low 20's today?
Cheers.
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windfind



Joined: 18 Mar 1997
Posts: 1902
PostPosted: Tue Jun 16, 2020 9:34 am    Post subject: Reply with quote
jmarik wrote:
Hi Mike,
Does this explain why 3rd ave channel was ripping while SFO was reading low 20's today?
Cheers.


Hi jmarik,

I think you are probably right about the SFO winds.

As you can see in the image above the standing waves produced by the 975mb winds at about 1000 feet aloft touch down in pretty well-defined bands and my guess is that SFO was just on the edge of a band.

Today we also have strong surface winds AND strong winds at 1000 feet. But there is a big difference!

Today the winds just aloft are more NW so they hit the coast range at an angle that allows them to flow through the W to NW facing gaps in the coast range as in the #1 image below. So they smoothly enhance the surface wind as you see in the #2 image below.

While yesterday the winds aloft hit the coast range at near 90 degrees which is much more likely to create wind waves.

Compare today's wind distribution below with yesterday's in the above image. Really dramatic.

This wind direction aloft also allows the surface wind to build earlier since we don't have to wait for the standing waves to form.

And the winds should be a bit steadier today since the standing waves have rotor wind in the lull areas between bands which create crazy gusts and lulls.

If you have ever sailed or kited the Gorge you know how crappy the winds can be in the corridor. This is because such bands are very common in the Gorge. While in the Bay Area they only occur when the 975 winds are more westerly and strong which is rare.

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

Bay975wind NW not W- WNW.gif
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