The Weather of the Pacific Northwest by Cliff Mass

Author:Cliff Mass
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: University of Washington Press
Published: 2021-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

The Strait of Georgia and Fraser River Northerly Winds

Although the strongest winds over the eastern Strait of Juan de Fuca and the inland waters of northwestern Washington are generally from the west or southeast, powerful winds occasionally come out of the north or northeast. One situation that produces moderate-strength northerlies (20–40 miles per hour) is when high pressure builds to the northwest while low pressure is located over southern Washington and Oregon. Air then accelerates southward down the Strait of Georgia, producing strong winds over the water and adjacent land. However, the most extreme northerly winds have another cause: strong outflow from the Fraser River valley. As described in chapters 2 and 4, the Fraser River valley represents a gap in the Cascades and its extension into British Columbia, the Coast Mountains. When Arctic high pressure moves into British Columbia and relatively low pressure is found over Washington, there is a large pressure difference down the Fraser River valley. Air accelerates southwestward down the valley, with the strongest flow as the air exits the gap, northeast of Bellingham. This northeasterly flow can gust to 60–80 miles per hour at times and has reached 100 miles per hour for the most extreme events.

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