WINTER WINDS - When To Ride?

[ricki]

Checking weather info online you can often time your setup fairly closely to when the offshore frontal winds will change to useable sideshore to side onshore winds. Less time wind waiting and MORE time riding!

Not all cold fronts bring violent weather, some do however. Often indications of heavy weather are fairly obvious from Internet weather records such as the example from March 2005 that appears below. Visual signs are also often present but not always if conditions are overcast/cloudy prior to the arrival of the squall line. Sometimes you can time your session to try to AVOID the squall line at the leading edge of some fronts. This particular front had more than one however.


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album83/Florida_s.sized.jpg


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album83/3_23_05.gif
The color radar showed several squall lines of potentially violent weather.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album83/venice_wind.gif
Venice Beach, FL

This station on the west coast of Florida had already been hit with strong squall gusts. Note the 90 degree direction change typical of frontal winds and the irratic direction changes common in squall gusts.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album83/sanibel_wind.gif
Sanibel, FL

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album83/wiggins_wind.gif
Wiggins, FL


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album83/biscayne_wind.gif
Key Biscayne, FL


http://www.fksa.org/albums/album83/2xse_ir.gif
That isn't a blow torch flame roasting Florida but in fact a color enhanced satellite image of a "weak" cold front.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album83/national_forecast.jpg
The weather map showed a frontal boundary sweeping across the southeast with SEVERE thunderstorms possible.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album83/1_G.sized.jpg
One of the squall bands off to the east, over the ocean at about 5 pm. All that blue sky and that big nasty band on weather clear as day.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album83/wiggins_wind.gif
The squall line at the leading edge of the front strikes SW Florida near Marco Island and the wind spikes up to at least 40 mph, possibly more. Note the classic 90 degree direction change in the wind.



http://www.fksa.org/albums/album83/radar_3_pm_3_23_05.gif
Enhanced color radar and satellite imagery from around 3 pm with the SW coast getting struck by the squall line.

http://www.fksa.org/albums/album83/5_pm_3_23_05_radar.gif
More imagery from TWO hours later at 5 pm.