Aug 06, 2000Current Weather
On the 6th at 1800Z, the charts show the ridge continuing to build across the ship’s track. A small cutoff low crossed the east coast of Siberia and is heading our way.
It appears that the tightening of the gradient and increase in wind speed is due to the approaching low pressing against the headland cliffs of Nunivak Island.
The model fails to pick up this mesoscale weather feature. Due to the stable boundary layer, the island blocks the wind. Unable to pass over the island, the wind turns parallel to the coast and accelerates toward low pressure. It's a classic response of coastal winds in a stable marine boundary layer.
As the ship passes north of the island, the wind will become diffluent and wind speed will decrease.