Has anyone else noticed that the weather this year is totally weird? Major snowstorms in April in the midwest ... and the accompanying cold fronts which normally stall out well before south Florida are marching on through ignoring the normal patterns?
As you can see above, our wind gauge is showing 30 knots ... Below is the forecast for the day. This was just as we approached the Northwest Channel Sea Buoy northwest of Key West...
As you can see above, our wind gauge is showing 30 knots ... Below is the forecast for the day. This was just as we approached the Northwest Channel Sea Buoy northwest of Key West...
You may not be able to read this, but it says there's nothing in this day over 12 knots ... and mostly 7 or below. And this was the forecast literally TWO HOURS before we departed Key West ... under FULL sail, of course, with that kind of forecast. When we left it was blowing 9-10, bright sunny beautiful day. Nothing to indicate what was about to happen when we reached the sea buoy. No clouds, no squeezed isobars on the current surface analysis NADA. And it didn't build gradually, oh no, it went from blowing 10 to WHAMO blowing 30. No chance to reef before the wind waves were dancing us around.
And this is the "norm" for this winter's cruising, not the exception. I just don't get it. At least this time the wind was from the forecast direction, which is more than I can say for other times when we were anchored on the N side of Bahia Honda because the wind was supposed to blow for the next three days out of the SE ... and instead we woke up to wind from the west on a lee shore ... then 4 hours later, wind from the north for the next 24 hours.... needless to say, we moved to the Johnson Keys where we had a bit of north protection. And the forecast? Still saying southeast.
Am I nuts? I don't think so. I don't ever remember a year where the winter fronts were so nasty so late up north and where they didn't weaken when coming south.
Any weather guru's out there know an explanation? Is there a nina or nino thing going on? When I get back to the lake this summer, I'm going to do some more research and see if I can figure out an answer because every cruiser I talk to is singing the same refrain ... how do you make plans when literally two hours before the forecast will change ... again! Not whining.... well, not too much. We still had a great time with the limited time we had to cruise the Keys this winter. But we didn't get to the Marquesas ... again, for the 3rd time. :(
And this is the "norm" for this winter's cruising, not the exception. I just don't get it. At least this time the wind was from the forecast direction, which is more than I can say for other times when we were anchored on the N side of Bahia Honda because the wind was supposed to blow for the next three days out of the SE ... and instead we woke up to wind from the west on a lee shore ... then 4 hours later, wind from the north for the next 24 hours.... needless to say, we moved to the Johnson Keys where we had a bit of north protection. And the forecast? Still saying southeast.
Am I nuts? I don't think so. I don't ever remember a year where the winter fronts were so nasty so late up north and where they didn't weaken when coming south.
Any weather guru's out there know an explanation? Is there a nina or nino thing going on? When I get back to the lake this summer, I'm going to do some more research and see if I can figure out an answer because every cruiser I talk to is singing the same refrain ... how do you make plans when literally two hours before the forecast will change ... again! Not whining.... well, not too much. We still had a great time with the limited time we had to cruise the Keys this winter. But we didn't get to the Marquesas ... again, for the 3rd time. :(
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