Wind and Waves Ahead

This morning was peaceful. Perhaps the calm before a storm. It looks like we are in for a very windy Saturday.

Puget Sound Marine Forecast

TODAY  S WIND 5 TO 15 KT…BECOMING 10 TO 20 KT IN THE AFTERNOON.  WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. AREAS OF FOG IN THE MORNING. A SLIGHT CHANCE  OF RAIN IN THE MORNING…THEN RAIN LIKELY IN THE AFTERNOON.

 TONIGHT  S WIND 10 TO 20 KT…BECOMING 5 TO 15 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.  WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT. A CHANCE OF RAIN.  

SAT  S WIND 5 TO 15 KT…RISING TO SW WIND 20 TO 30 KT IN THE  AFTERNOON.  WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS…BUILDING TO 3 TO 5 FT IN THE AFTERNOON.  RAIN.

 SAT NIGHT  SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT…EASING TO 5 TO 15 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT…SUBSIDING TO 2 FT OR LESS AFTER  MIDNIGHT.

Check out the blustery forecast from Wind Alert.

wind_10_09_2015

And last but not least… check out the high tides just shy of 11 feet. We have a 10.75 estimated at 4:04 pm today and 10.72 at 4:27 pm on Saturday. If the Wind Alert forecast is accurate, we could be dealing with gusts of 35 mph and higher during high tide on Saturday.

2015-10-09_1028_

National Weather Service Forecast

Today: Rain likely after 11am. Cloudy, with a high near 65. Calm wind becoming south southwest 5 to 9 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.
Tonight: A 50 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a low around 60. South wind 7 to 17 mph.
Saturday: Rain. Patchy fog before 11am. High near 64. South wind 6 to 11 mph increasing to 16 to 21 mph in the afternoon. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday Night: Rain likely before 11pm, then showers likely after 11pm. Cloudy, with a low around 55. Breezy, with a southwest wind 17 to 22 mph decreasing to 10 to 15 mph in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

The Seattle City forecast that I often post has not been updated since 4:00 am this morning. Once it’s updated, if I catch it, I’ll post it here.

Of course weather forecast change often so please check the links on the right column of Beach Drive Blog. By the way, check out the new tides widget we just added yesterday.

Stay safe!

Wind and Waves: Small Craft Advisory

A small craft advisory has been issued for Puget Sound through tonight. With gusts predicted around 30 mph and waves up to 3 to 5 feet, the weather and waves should be spectacular.

The National Weather Service:

Today
A 50 percent chance of rain. Cloudy, with a high near 68. South wind 13 to 20 mph.
Tonight
Rain likely before 11pm. Cloudy during the early evening, then gradual clearing, with a low around 50. Southwest wind 6 to 13 mph becoming east northeast in the evening. Chance of precipitation is 70%. New precipitation amounts of less than a tenth of an inch possible.

From the Puget Sound Marine Forecast:

TODAY  S WIND 15 TO 25 KT…RISING TO 20 TO 30 KT IN THE  AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. A CHANCE OF RAIN.  

TONIGHT  SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT…BECOMING NW 10 TO 20 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. RAIN AT TIMES IN THE EVENING.

From Wind Alert  is showing potential gusts of 30 to 34 mph from  2pm to 5pm today.

2015-09-20_0758_wind_alert

High tide is predicted to be 9.5 at 11:00 am. As you can see from the chart above, we could have gusts of 25 at that time. Low tide is a 6.52 at 4:32 pm and then rising back to a 9.14 around 10:00 pm.

2015-09-20_0804_tides

Wind, Waves and Rain

The weather forecast for tomorrow is concerning enough for us to pull anchor on our boats to move them to more protected areas. Here’s what we’re looking at that’s causing us to take this action:

We have a gale warning in effect through Sunday evening.

This is from the Puget Sound Marine Forecast:

 SAT  SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 KT…BECOMING S 25 TO 35 KT IN THE  AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 1 OR 2 FT…BUILDING TO 4 TO 6 FT IN THE  AFTERNOON. RAIN.  

SAT NIGHT  S WIND 10 TO 20 KT…EASING TO 10 KT AFTER MIDNIGHT.  WIND WAVES 1 TO 3 FT…SUBSIDING TO 1 FT OR LESS AFTER MIDNIGHT.  SHOWERS IN THE EVENING…THEN A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT.

The National Weather Service has issued a wind advisory.

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A WIND ADVISORY…WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM TO 5 PM PDT SATURDAY. * TIMING…MIDDAY THROUGH SATURDAY AFTERNOON. * WINDS…SOUTH WIND 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH. * IMPACTS…DOWNED LIMBS AND LOCAL POWER OUTAGES. PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS… A WIND ADVISORY MEANS THAT WINDS OF 35 MPH ARE EXPECTED. WINDS THIS STRONG CAN MAKE DRIVING DIFFICULT…ESPECIALLY FOR HIGH PROFILE VEHICLES. USE EXTRA CAUTION.

 

 

Saturday
Rain. High near 68. Breezy, with a northeast wind 6 to 11 mph becoming south 18 to 28 mph in the morning. Winds could gust as high as 39 mph. Chance of precipitation is 100%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
Saturday Night
Showers, mainly before 11pm. Low around 56. South wind 16 to 21 mph decreasing to 9 to 14 mph after midnight. Winds could gust as high as 29 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a quarter and half of an inch possible.
SATURDAY…WINDY…RAIN. RAINFALL AMOUNTS A QUARTER TO A HALF INCH POSSIBLE. HIGHS IN THE MID 60S TO LOWER 70S. SOUTH WIND AROUND 10 MPH INCREASING TO 20 TO 35 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 45 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

SATURDAY NIGHT…BREEZY. SHOWERS IN THE EVENING…THEN MOSTLY CLOUDY WITH A CHANCE OF SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. LOCALLY HEAVY RAINFALL POSSIBLE IN THE EVENING. RAINFALL AMOUNTS A HALF INCH TO ONE INCH POSSIBLE. LOWS IN THE 50S. SOUTH WIND 15 TO 25 MPH DECREASING TO AROUND 10 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.

Tides will be rising from a -1.02 at 11:05 am tomorrow to an 11.73 at 5:47 pm tomorrow – just in time for the wind! From NOAA:

2015-08-28_1906

 

Heat Advisory through Saturday Night

UPDATE July 31, 2015: The heat advisory has been extended through 8:00 pm Sunday, August 2, 2015! 

The National Weather Service has issued a heat advisory through 9:00 pm Saturday night.

They recommend:

TAKE EXTRA PRECAUTIONS…IF YOU WORK OR SPEND TIME OUTSIDE…RESCHEDULE
STRENUOUS ACTIVITIES TO EARLY MORNING OR EVENING IF POSSIBLE.

KNOW THE SIGNS AND SYMPTOMS OF HEAT EXHAUSTION AND HEAT STROKE.

WEAR LIGHT WEIGHT AND LOOSE FITTING CLOTHING WHEN POSSIBLE AND DRINK
PLENTY OF WATER.

THE INTERIOR OF AUTOMOBILES CAN BECOME VERY HOT
CREATING A DANGER IF CHILDREN OR PETS ARE LEFT UNATTENDED.

CHECK UP ON RELATIVES AND NEIGHBORS.

Seattle City Forecast:

TODAY…SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE UPPER 80S TO MID 90S. NORTH WIND TO 10 MPH INCREASING TO 10 TO 15 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

TONIGHT…CLEAR. LOWS IN THE UPPER 50S TO MID 60S. NORTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH BECOMING NORTHEAST AFTER MIDNIGHT.

FRIDAY…SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 80S TO LOWER 90S. LIGHT WIND BECOMING NORTH AROUND 10 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

FRIDAY NIGHT…CLEAR. LOWS IN THE UPPER 50S TO MID 60S. NORTH WIND AROUND 10 MPH BECOMING NORTHEAST AFTER MIDNIGHT.

SATURDAY…SUNNY. HIGHS IN THE MID 80S TO LOWER 90S. NORTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH.

PS: The forecast for Seattle Night Out on Tuesday, August 4, 2015 is sunny in the upper 70’s…how refreshing!

High Wind Warning until 8am this Morning: Gale Warning until Kick Off


…HIGH WIND WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 8 AM PST THIS MORNING…

TODAY…VERY WINDY…SHOWERS. RAINFALL AMOUNTS A TENTH TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH POSSIBLE. HIGHS NEAR 50. SOUTHWEST WIND 20 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 60 MPH EARLY. WIND EASING TO SOUTHWEST 15 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH AFTER 8 AM.

TONIGHT…SHOWERS LIKELY. RAINFALL AMOUNTS A TENTH TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH POSSIBLE. LOWS IN THE LOWER TO MID 40S. SOUTHWEST WIND 10 TO 20 MPH.

Tides are heading down to a low of 7.06  ft at 9:09 am and then heading back up to 11.35 ft at 2:11 this afternoon.

From the Puget Sound Marine Forecast:

GALE WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL NOON PST TODAY    TODAY  SW WIND 25 TO 35 KT…EASING TO 15 TO 25 KT IN THE  AFTERNOON. WIND WAVES 4 TO 6 FT…SUBSIDING TO 2 TO 4 FT IN THE  AFTERNOON. SHOWERS.  TONIGHT  SW WIND 15 TO 25 KT…EASING TO 10 TO 20 KT AFTER  MIDNIGHT. WIND WAVES 2 TO 4 FT. SHOWERS LIKELY.

GO SEAHAWKS!!!

Wind Storm: AFTERMATH!

Well, it appears we may have gotten away with one as long as a hill doesn’t slide away in the next day or so. The timing of the tides vs wind spared many a basements on the west side of the street.

Don’t tell this to Rudolph and Santa though. They were pretty blown away at the 50 knot gusts!

IMG_3668

IMG_3670

Asked Mr. Menashe about how the Christmas village faired last night, blessed at just a few knock-downs and the toppling of the ornamental arch over the walk way. Not bad at all!

IMG_3671

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

Barking Dog Report: HIGH WIND WATCH AND COASTAL FLOODING WATCH

Barking-Dog-ReportI’m crossing my fingers that the current forecasts I’m reading are exaggerating the predictions for Thursday. The coastal flooding is predicted to impact local high tides, causing a 14 ft on Wednesday morning around 8 am and a 14.5 ft on Thursday morning around 9 – 10 am.  Combine this with the high wind watch with possible gusts up to 65 mph and I smell trouble!

If you live on the water along Beach Drive, you might want to make sure you have pumps ready to go and take any actions needed to prepare for potential flooding. Be sure to continue to check the forecast as they do change…hopefully for the better!

Please share this information with your Beach Drive neighbors – they may not be aware of the pending storm.

National Weather Service

...COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO NOON PST
WEDNESDAY...
...COASTAL FLOOD WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT
THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN SEATTLE HAS ISSUED A COASTAL
FLOOD ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 4 AM TO NOON PST
WEDNESDAY. A COASTAL FLOOD WATCH HAS ALSO BEEN ISSUED. THIS
COASTAL FLOOD WATCH IS IN EFFECT FROM LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT
THROUGH THURSDAY AFTERNOON.

* IMPACTS...MINOR TIDAL OVERFLOW IS EXPECTED TO PRODUCE MINOR
  FLOODING IN LOW LYING AREAS AROUND THE INLAND WATERS AROUND HIGH
  TIDE ON WEDNESDAY. MORE SERIOUS AND EXTENSIVE COASTAL FLOODING
  IS POSSIBLE ON THURSDAY IF A DEEP LOW THAT IS SHOWN BY MANY
  FORECAST MODELS COMES IN AROUND HIGH TIDE. THIS DEEP LOW WOULD
  PRODUCE A 1 TO 2 FOOT STORM SURGE ON TOP OF PREDICTED TIDE
  VALUES AND WOULD BE COMBINED WITH WAVES DEVELOPED BY STRONG
  WINDS.

* TIME OF HIGH TIDE...ABOUT 8 AM PST WEDNESDAY AND 9-10 AM PST
  THURSDAY.

* PREDICTED TIDE...AT SEATTLE ABOUT 14 FEET ON WEDNESDAY AND
  POSSIBLY AROUND 14.5 FEET ON THURSDAY. MINOR TIDAL OVERFLOW AT
  SEATTLE NORMALLY BEGINS AROUND 13.5 FEET AND SERIOUS COASTAL
  FLOODING TYPICALLY BEGINS AT 14.5 FEET. TIDAL ANOMALIES ARE
  EXPECTED TO BE SIMILAR AT OTHER LOCATIONS BETWEEN OLYMPIA AND
  POINT ROBERTS ALONG THE SHORES OF THE INLAND WATERS.

PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...

A COASTAL FLOOD ADVISORY INDICATES THAT ONSHORE WINDS AND TIDES
WILL COMBINE TO GENERATE FLOODING OF LOW AREAS ALONG THE SHORE.

A COASTAL FLOOD WATCH MEANS FLOODING OR BEACH EROSION WILL OCCUR
IF WEATHER CONDITIONS DEVELOP AS PREDICTED. RESIDENTS AND LOCAL
OFFICIALS SHOULD MONITOR THE SITUATION CLOSELY AND BE PREPARED TO
TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION IF A WARNING IS ISSUED.

Seattle City Forecast:

…HIGH WIND WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY EVENING…

TONIGHT…RAIN IN THE EVENING…THEN SHOWERS AFTER MIDNIGHT. RAINFALL AMOUNTS A HALF INCH TO ONE INCH POSSIBLE. LOWS IN THE LOWER TO MID 50S. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 20 MPH. GUSTS TO 35 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.

WEDNESDAY…BREEZY…RAIN. RAINFALL AMOUNTS A HALF INCH TO ONE INCH POSSIBLE. HIGHS NEAR 60. SOUTH WIND 15 TO 25 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH.

WEDNESDAY NIGHT…RAIN AT TIMES. RAINFALL AMOUNTS A TENTH TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH POSSIBLE. LOWS NEAR 50. SOUTH WIND 10 TO 15 MPH BECOMING EAST WITH GUSTS TO 25 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.

THURSDAY…VERY WINDY. RAIN AT TIMES. RAINFALL AMOUNTS A TENTH TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH POSSIBLE. HIGHS IN THE LOWER TO MID 50S. NORTH WIND 10 TO 20 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 30 MPH INCREASING TO SOUTH 30 TO 40 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 65 MPH IN THE AFTERNOON.

THURSDAY NIGHT…WINDY. SHOWERS LIKELY. RAINFALL AMOUNTS A TENTH TO A QUARTER OF AN INCH POSSIBLE. LOWS IN THE MID 40S. SOUTHWEST WIND 20 TO 30 MPH WITH GUSTS TO 40 MPH DECREASING TO 10 TO 15 MPH AFTER MIDNIGHT.

NWS Forecast for Thursday currently has gusts up to 70 MPH!!!

  • Thursday: Rain. High near 54. Windy, with a north northeast wind 6 to 11 mph becoming south 36 to 46 mph in the afternoon. Winds could gust as high as 70 mph. Chance of precipitation is 90%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.
  • Thursday Night: Showers likely. Mostly cloudy, with a low around 45. Windy. Chance of precipitation is 60%. New precipitation amounts between a tenth and quarter of an inch possible.

Here’s a snap shot of the pending tides – please remember this is NOT reflecting the coastal flooding which causes the tides to be higher than originally predicted.

2014-12-09_1644

UPDATE: 4:58 PM to add the Puget Sound Marine Forecast:

SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM WEDNESDAY MORNING THROUGH  WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON  STORM WATCH IN EFFECT FROM LATE WEDNESDAY NIGHT THROUGH THURSDAY  EVENING  

 WED  S WIND 20 TO 30 KT. WIND WAVES 3 TO 5 FT. RAIN.  
WED NIGHT  S WIND 15 TO 25 KT...EASING TO 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES  2 TO 4 FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT OR LESS AFTER MIDNIGHT. RAIN IN THE  EVENING...THEN RAIN LIKELY AFTER MIDNIGHT.  
THU  N WIND 5 TO 15 KT...BECOMING S 35 TO 45 KT. STORM FORCE  WINDS ARE POSSIBLE. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS BUILDING TO 5 TO 8 FT.  
THU NIGHT  SW WIND 35 TO 45 KT EARLY...EASING TO 5 TO 15 KT.  STORM FORCE WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THE EVENING. WIND WAVES 6 TO 8  FT...SUBSIDING TO 2 FT OR LESS.

A “barking dog report” means that we are very closely watching the sound and preparing to possibly flood. It may or may not happen (hopefully not!!). Consider us your neighbor’s barking dog who’s barking at potential trouble. Stay safe my friends!

Weather Apps/sites for predicting wind, waves & tides

We’ve used several weather sites and apps over the years in helping us predict when we get to go fishing in our driveway. Yep, we’re well into the season of higher tides and southerly winds. “Yuletides” measuring close to 13 feet will be gracing our shores starting on Christmas while the dreaded King Tides  (my definition is over 13 feet) start up later in January.

BDB compiles several different government weather sources to come up with the Barking Dog warning…

A “barking dog report” means that we are very closely watching the sound and preparing to possibly flood. It may or may not happen (hopefully not!!). Consider us your neighbor’s barking dog who’s barking at potential trouble.

This has me wondering if there are any free sites/apps that can provide all the info you want in an easy to understand format. It’s a safe bet that most weather sites are pulling their stats off of NOAA satellites/beacons so it’s just a matter of which site/app works for you. Here’s a few freebies that stood out to me…

Predict Wind includes a robust amount of weather info (includes predicted wave & tide heights) but totally whiffed in predicting our last big blow in November. They claim that their custom report/models are used by America’s Cup & Volvo Ocean sailors more than any other forecast applications. They’re predicting that we’ll be seeing peak gusts of 50 knots around 9:oo AM tomorrow…

PredictWind

iWindsurf was recommended by a neighbor and is now my go-to app. It accurately predicted our last couple of windy days off of Alki Pt. This snapshot of their Prediction Table is showing steady wind of 21 knots with peak gusts to 48 for tomorrow at 5:00 PM.

IMG_0227

There are several good sources for tide heights but I prefer Tide Graph HD from Brainware LLC. Here’s the height for Seattle @ 6PM tomorrow…

TideGraphHD

 

Wave height is pretty much a factor of wind speed around here. The fetch or travel distances approx. the same from North to South.

Wind 10-20 Kt = 3 footers

Wind 15-25 Kt = 4 footers

Wind 25-35 Kt = 6 footers

Wind 35-45 Kt = up to 8 feet! (BTW, predicted by NOAA Marine forecast for Puget Sound/Hood Canal this Thursday evening)

 

IMG_3522 Beach Drive’s own Psycho of the Soup uses the IWindsurf app to map out wind speed forecasts for slaying the surf along the drive.

 

Scupper, reporting for Beach Drive Blog

 

Beach Burn Ban LIFTED

2014-12-02_1706Yesterday we published the notice from the City of Seattle about the burn ban restricting bonfires…today, they have lifted said burn ban. That didn’t last long!

Rejoice around the bonfires with the Christmas ships, merry neighbors!

For immediate release                                                     

December 2, 2014

Contact:          David Takami 206-684-7241

david.takami@seattle.gov

Burn ban lifted: Beach fires can resume

The Puget Sound Clean Air Agency today lifted the burn ban for King, Kitsap, Pierce and Snohomish counties.

For Seattle Parks and Recreation, this means that beach fires at Alki Beach Park, 1702 Alki Ave. SW, and Golden Gardens Park, 8498 Seaview Ave. NW, can resume. Bonfires scheduled for on-shore Christmas Ship events can also resume.

The rules for beach fires are as follows:

  • Light fires ONLY in designated fire pits, which are available on a first-come, first-serve basis
  • Burn only clean firewood like bare, clean dry cordwood (chemically treated wood like lumber releases a strong-smelling, dirty smoke into the air and burning pallets can leave nails and debris on the beach)
  • Douse your fire completely with water (NOT sand) before leaving
  • Don’t remove anything from the park
  • Dispose of trash and ashes in the containers provided for each
  • Be considerate of others – no amplified music
  • Alcohol is not permitted in Seattle parks

For more information on burn bans please visit the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency at http://www.pscleanair.org/airq/status.asp

 

 

 

 

Just a dusting of snow

Not too much snow overnight for those who live along Beach Drive…just enough to be pretty! Speaking of pretty, it’s pretty chilly outside with winds from the north. Stay warm, neighbors!

2014-11-29 09.54.51
2014-11-29 09.44.37