unusally windy WCVI

[spring fever]

Unbelievably windy summer-haven't seen so much wind and stretches with gale and storm warnings up. We are all used to the afternoon winds getting up but this seems way different-maybe the jet stream has slipped further south. Any end in sight.-my reading looks to be no change for at least a couple of weeks. Come on Charlie you have to have a theory on this one

 

[nootka]

Need a little help. We're planning a fishing trip next week to Ucluelet.
What is the BEST weather prediction source for offshore WCVI on the internet?

Thanks for the help.

john

 

[Charlie]

quote:Originally posted by spring fever

Come on Charlie you have to have a theory on this one

My theory... It looks fairly normal, I'd be fishing, but it is all in comfort level and experience... if you're not comfortable or have the experience, don't go!

I guess there is a difference between 33 knots and a predicted 35 knots, as far as warnings? But thern again I have been out in predicted 35 knots and ran into 50-60 knots, so you DO need to keep an eye on your weather!

Recent Conditions -- La Perouse Bank
Air temperature: 12.3 °C (54.4 °F)
Sea level pressure: 1021.8 hPa (34602.1 in)
Significant wave height: 1.6 m (5.2 ft)
Water temperature: 12.5 °C (54.8 °F)
Wind gust speed: 3.0 m/s (5.8 kts)
Wind speed: 3.0 m/s (5.8 kts)
Last reported: 10:00 PM GMT 07/16/2010
5:00 PM EST 07/16/2010

Strong Wind Warning is an alert issued to advise that marine wind speeds between 20 and 33 knots inclusive are occurring, or are expected to occur. The main purpose of the Strong Wind Warning is to alert near-shore mariners and operators of smaller vessels to strong wind conditions that may impact their operations. The terminology for this alert replaces the "Small Craft Warning" which was previously issued for the same wind speed criteria.

Gale Force Wind
Wind with a speed between 34 and 47 knots. Beaufort scale wind force 8 or 9.

Storm Force Wind
Wind with a wind speed between 48 and 63 knots. Beaufort scale wind force 10 or 11.

Gale warning in effect.
Wind southeast 10 to 15 knots except northwest 20 to 30 offshore. Wind becoming variable 10 to 15 early this afternoon except northwest 25 to 35 offshore.

Extended Forecast
Issued 04:00 AM PDT 17 July 2010
Monday
Wind northwest 15 to 25 knots.

Tuesday
Wind northwest 15 to 25 knots.

Wednesday
Wind northwest 20 to 30 knots.

http://www.meteo.gc.ca/marine/forecast_e.html?mapID=02&siteID=16200
http://forecast.weather.gov/wwamap/wwatxtget.php?cwa=sew&wwa=small craft advisory

 

[spring fever]

Yeah I agree with you charlie if you or your boat can't handle it don't go. I usually look at the public forecast for winter harbour just to get a feel for wind direction etc.I am looking for 20kmh or less at WH (which of course is not what you get off-shore)-I get a little nervous if I see anything much from the SE. Then I switch to http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/marine/region_e.html?mapID=02 I look at vancouver island north-check to the north of that and further off -shore just to see if everything is consistant-I look for the next day-maybe by sliding one day or 2 I might get better or more fishing and I try to avoid like the plague any mention of SE winds because that can and usually does mean trouble -Cliffe point and even behind Kain island could be tough to fish. Remember the gale or the storm warning is usually predicated on the highest wind of the day which at WH is usually in the afternoon and could be based on winds off the Brooks pennisula which are usually higher. You may still get a decent mornings fishing. I still think the morning winds have been consistantly higher this year but I can't seem to find that other than looking at historical for Solander Island.

 

[cammer]

this topic is soo bang on right now, we have been watching that forecast for the last 3 weeks and like the original poster, this is VERY unusual, i havent seen it drop off in that time. We have a small boat and specifically watch the weather and it may look like this monday to wednesday may be a rough ride?? we are also thinking early morning runs also, i also understand they err on the side of caution and post higher wind forecasts than what they get

 

[spring fever]

I agree-monday to wednesday looks like a rough ride however I looked at all the things I mentioned in my last entry and there is a reasonable chance the mornings could be fishable off WH - behind the Island and cliffe point should be good. Every day that goes by those places should be getting more fish and improving the fishing opportunities. Good luck!

 

[spring fever]

Charlie-that last site you gave was a NOAA site-I realize they are a national U.S. gov't site but there must be a U.S. site for mariners that gives forecasts say for a trip to Alaska-would be nice to compare forecasts Any such U.S. site

 

[Charlie]

Does this help?
http://www.weather.gov/om/marine/home.htm

 

[Island Fish Lifter]

this is the one I use http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/forecast/canada/index_e.html?id=BC

Fill the dam tub!

 

[Sushihunter]

Instead of chasing all over the interwebz for wx info, I put all the sources I could find onto one page on my own website.

http://www.jimsfishing.com/links.htm

You have to scroll down a bit past the local Tahsis info and other stuff, but about half way down the page I have listed a bunch of weather sites for the WCVI. Also things like tide tables and satellite photos and other things.

I created the page so that I only had to bring up one page before I head out fishing to get the latest wx info.

If anyone has links to other sites that I could add to my page, please let me know!


Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250

 

[spring fever]

Hey Jim -thank you very much-I spent a very interesting 1/2 hour looking through all your info-the most interesting (to me) was the Nootka surf forecast- while not Winter Harbour- if used in conjunction with the public forecast and the westcoastVanIsle north marine forecast it is one more tool to get a bit of a handle on what to expect.

 

[reelfast]

try this site:

http://www.wunderground.com/


enter a zip code or city and province. this site is a weather junkies heaven. marine forcasts tend to be more accurate than the ones i read on the NOAA site.

wind is only one factor. the open ocean fishing for me was more a question of swell height and periodicity. when the dominant wave period becomes short, you are in for trouble and a wet ride. we commonly sport fished the central oregon coast with long ocean swells of 10-15' but they were far enough apart to not cause much concern.

on the strait, 2' swells can be a real issue when the dominant wave period is 3 seconds or less. if you look at the floating buoy data, and scroll down to wave action, you will see a rating that is applied on the wave face from steep to very steep, you simply should not be out there.

 

[Sushihunter]

quote:Originally posted by spring fever

Hey Jim -thank you very much-I spent a very interesting 1/2 hour looking through all your info-the most interesting (to me) was the Nootka surf forecast- while not Winter Harbour- if used in conjunction with the public forecast and the westcoastVanIsle north marine forecast it is one more tool to get a bit of a handle on what to expect.

Thanks for the comment!

The page is focused on Tahsis and areas 25/125 so that I can have a one-stop shopping experience when I need to check weather before a trip. 4AM is not the time to run to a dozen different websites looking for details. I've put as much as I can directly on the page, and some I had to link to as it does not copy over very well - like the weather radar out of Victoria.

I especially like the two graphs for wind speed, and barometric pressure for South Brooks and La Perouse - gives good visualisation and shows trends quite nicely.

I do have a Surface Sea Temp. at the bottom of the page, but it does not give the detail I would like. If anyone knows of a place to get SST without paying a fee, please let me know!

And just for the record, if you find my Links page useful, please feel free to use it any time. [8D]



Jim's Fishing Charters
www.JimsFishing.com
http://www.youtube.com/user/Sushihunter250

 

[Sculpin]

Great site Jim. Can't believe I hadn't checked it out before[:I]. Another great site for weather is http://www.bigwavedave.ca/ he has ton's of webcam links as well.


"I'm not talkin bout pleasure boatin or day sailin......I'm talkin bout workin for a livin"- Captain Quint