Predicting Squamish wind!

[Colinkiteboarding]

I see Alton updated his page. It now shows a nice graph with the temp differences.
http://wind.altoning.com/temp

This is by far the best forecasting tool for predicting the wind in Squamish.
Somethings are tricky though, you just have to know how to interpret some subtleties.


Is there a way to have a graph that moves with the current temps?

[alton]

Someone suggested charting current temperature and pressure - not just forecast temperatures. I think it's a GREAT idea so I'll look into it soon.

I appreciate your feedback. More is welcome.

-Alton

[Don_C]

Hey, nice graph Al !!

Thanks for all your work on keeping your site up.

A Laser sailor recently asked me how to predict Squamish wind. Below is my reply. I would welcome comments since I'd like to fine tune this and permanently post it somewhere for those new to kiting at Squamish.

Here is Squamish wind info for you:

Squamish wind is thermal. Heavy cold air from the interior falls down the valley and causes an outflow. Warm air in the interior rises and is replaced by the inflow wind up the valley. Generally the cold air outflow happens at night and in the early morning. The inflow starts around noon and goes to around 5 or 6, but can last until around 8.

I would think you are only interested in sailing in the inflow. The outflow is just plain cold, and you have to wake up too early in the morning to catch it.

Predicting the inflow is all almost all about predicting a temperature gradient where Whistler, Pemberton and Lillooet are at least a degree or two above the Squamish temperature.

So,….for long range forecasting you just look at the probability of sunny skies in the Whistler, Pemberton and Lillooet area. You can get those forecasts on the EC website here: http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/city/pag ... ric_e.html Just choose the city in the drop down menu at the top right of the page. If you see sunny, or partially sunny skies in the next few days you know there is a chance of wind.

Within a day or two before planning to go you can look at the forecasted temperature gradient here:
http://wind.altoning.com/temp
There is all sorts of good weather info on this web page. You can click on lots of links. The important thing is the check the forecasted temperature differences. I don’t usually give much weight to information further than 2 days ahead even though it is shown on the page. It is just too inaccurate that far out.
It is a good page to look at the night before you want to go to Squamish. It is also a good page to use to predict English Bay thermals.

The morning that you intend to go up, the best place to check is here:
http://www.vancouverkiteboardingschool. ... -squamish/
Colin, at Vancouver Kite School, is very good at forecasting Squamish and Vancouver wind. He usually posts his forecasts quite early. He does not post every day. Only the days he thinks there will be wind.

If Colin does not post early enough for you, or you want to do the analysis yourself in the morning before leaving, you would do what we did before Colin:

Check the EC site to see if sun, or at least some sun, is in the forecast.
Check the forecasted temperature grid. Again the http://wind.altoning.com/temp is best for this.
Look at the Whistler or Blackcomb web cams and see what clouds are actually around to verify if the forecasters are on the ball.
Look at the marine forecast for Pam Rocks, the Howe Sound weather station, http://www.weatheroffice.gc.ca/marine/f ... tionID=WLP you can usually add 5 to 10 knots to the forecasted inflow.
Look at Big Wave Dave http://www.bigwavedave.ca/forecasts.php and TJ’s Map http://home.comcast.net/~wxtofly/loopal ... NW&grid=d2 to see what system winds are forecasted. You can also look at the EC Southern Georgia Strait marine forecast, but it is very general and inaccurate. If the system winds for the Vancouver area are ESE to SW the thermal inflow to Howe Sound will be strengthened. If the system winds are W to N the thermal Squamish wind will be decreased. The strongest wind you will usually find in Squamish is when there are sunny skies, and an over 3 degree gradient coupled with a Southerly system wind. That’s a 30 knot kind of day.
You can check the Squamish wind at any time by going to http://www.squamishwindsports.com/wind/index.php but don’t be discouraged if you look at 10 am and there is still a bit of outflow. It typically turns around at about noon. Feel free to be discouraged if at 11:30 there is still a 15 knot outflow.

I think that about wraps it up…except……Squamish can be surprising. Even when everything does not look great with the indicators above, Squamish inflow sometimes just goes off when you least expect it. It can happen any day after mid April.

Hope this helps.

[alton]

My simple rules:

1. Get a baseline wind speed from http://wind.altoning.com/navtex?station=HOWE. Look for Howe Sound inflows at least S 10-15 by noon. Earlier is better. Later is worse.

2. Check the temperature gradient (from http://wind.altoning.com/temp) between Vancouver and Lillooet. If Lillooet is hotter than Vancouver by 5C (or more) add 5 knots to the baseline (above). I generally ignore Squamish and Whistler temperatures.

3. Check the Vancouver Airport http://wind.altoning.com/taf?station=CYVR METAR/TAF forecast. Southerly winds add to the baseline. Northerly and westerly reduce the baseline.

4. Check satellite images http://sat.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/1km/Seattle/VIS1SEA.GIF for clear sky from Squamish to Lillooet. High (wispy) clouds are acceptable. Low fluffy clouds degrade conditions - more clouds means less wind and more gust.

5. Since forecasts can change quickly, at 10:30am recheck inflows at http://wind.altoning.com/navtex?station=HOWE before committing.

[Tim_bc]

My simple rules:

1. Get a baseline wind speed from http://wind.altoning.com/navtex?station=HOWE. Look for Howe Sound inflows at least S 10-15 by noon. Earlier is better. Later is worse.

2. Check the temperature gradient (from http://wind.altoning.com/temp) between Vancouver and Lillooet. If Lillooet is hotter than Vancouver by 5C (or more) add 5 knots to the baseline (above). I generally ignore Squamish and Whistler temperatures.

3. Check the Vancouver Airport http://wind.altoning.com/taf?station=CYVR METAR/TAF forecast. Southerly winds add to the baseline. Northerly and westerly reduce the baseline.

4. Check satellite images http://sat.wrh.noaa.gov/satellite/1km/Seattle/VIS1SEA.GIF for clear sky from Squamish to Lillooet. High (wispy) clouds are acceptable. Low fluffy clouds degrade conditions - more clouds means less wind and more gust.

5. Since forecasts can change quickly, at 10:30am recheck inflows at http://wind.altoning.com/navtex?station=HOWE before committing.

Great post! Thanks,

Tim

[alton]

Check out the Temperature Grid at http://wind.altoning.com/temp.

Hover your mouse over the temperature in the grid (not the chart) and get more detail - important because details sometimes contain "wind" information.

Hover your mouse over Vancouver Friday and you'll discover wind Friday late afternoon!

On your iPhone, just tap on the temperature.

[Colinkiteboarding]

Looks great! I was still having to check those manually. Your making my job very easy!

[camkieran]

The morning that you intend to go up, the best place to check is here:
http://www.vancouverkiteboardingschool. ... -squamish/
Colin, at Vancouver Kite School, is very good at forecasting Squamish and Vancouver wind. He usually posts his forecasts quite early. He does not post every day. Only the days he thinks there will be wind.

Colin changed the way he posts to his blog, I think this is the link you'll want: http://www.vancouverkiteboardingschool.com/Kiteboarding/category/weather/

The upside is that now the posts show up in my google reader.

[Colinkiteboarding]

RSS feed now available

[Aarongroen]

I find the best way to predict wind at the spit is to look out my front window. If the trees are moving, it's good to go. I guess living two minutes away has it's advantages.

[The Youngin]

Hey CG can you switch the old link in "weather" to the new Colins forecast link in this thread
just so i dont have to keep going through this thread to find out whats happening
also what happened to the Bayside BBay link?

[cglazier]

Hey CG can you switch the old link in "weather" to the new Colins forecast link in this thread
just so i dont have to keep going through this thread to find out whats happening
also what happened to the Bayside BBay link?

Done.
And the Bayside Club seems to have changed its website. I have just updated the link called "Boundary Bay 3rd Ave" where you can get the current wind reading at the club.
Thanks for the heads up Layne.

CG

[Driller]

Old Topic I know but just trying to get insight. I looked at the temperatures for Vancouver, Squamish, Pemberton, and beyond for today but it didn't look promising.
I saw there was northerly outflows forecasted this morning, then some inflow this afternoon (along with SE winds for georgia straight, which is good) then outflows in afternoon, but the temps didn't indicate a windy day at the spit. So I thought, good day to hang out at home. Why did it get so windy today?? I misread everything. Too many questions. My guess is... welcome to the world of wind sports?

[bluevelvet]

Honey-Ale-Girl.jpeg (8.34 KiB) Viewed 32791 times

Spring weather.
Today was a fortunate suprise.
Could just as easily have been a morning coffee at the water followed by a bike ride etc...
Tomorrow might be good but this time of year can be a crap shoot.

[kalena]

Mornings searching for just the right wind options...and being able to access the info quickly and easily is a bonus for sure... yea...def nice to have an unexpected delight and get that perfect session when you weren't expecting it.