Bad Weather

Last night I got back to the boat and there was a nice note posted on the entrance to the marina. It said that there was a severe wind warning and it was unwise to take your boat out. I wasn't planning on going sailing and so it wasn't too much of an issue for me.

There is a high to the south and a low coming in from the north. When the two systems meet, it causes an incredible amount of wind. When this happens out in the middle of the ocean, large waves get created and boats sink. Here in the protected marina, my boat is fairly safe.

Interestingly enough, my wife forwarded me a message from the marina at the Great Salt Lake that was sent this afternoon. This storm is headed there after pummelling San Francisco. The e-mail stated that only a fool would go sailing for the next couple of days. I guess they are battening down the hatches there as well.

The Weather Channel has a great website, but my personal favorite is NOAA's. You can specify a city and state. Then it shows you the weather for a very specific area. You can see current conditions as well as the forecast. Right now, it is blowing at 22 miles per hour with gusts up to 33. The NOAA site seems to have the most accurate forecast. The weather channel does have one advantage though. If there is an area getting pasted by a huge weather event, like a hurricane, they have the best coverage.