An Early Warning to our New England marine community - avoid any long trips to the Canadian Maritimes for later this week and weekend. In fact, our waters will become more treacherous for navigation as soon as Thursday, with the powerful Ohio Valley storm drawing closer and winds from the south increasing through the day, stirring seas and generating swell along the entire Northeast coast. With winds well aligned from the south through a deep layer of the atmosphere, not only are torrential downpours likely with embedded thunderstorms, but strong gusts also should result at times Thursday. Though the exact axis of strongest wind and rain is still variable, note that two differing guidance products, below (NAM left, GFS right), show surface wind gusts in spots of 30-50 knots (35-58 mph)...and wherever the exact axis is, the story is the same...big waves stir up Thursday along the Northeast coast with this system. See the wind gust and wave forecast for Thursday, below, then scroll farther down to see Gozalo's impact.
Thursday afternoon surface wind gust forecast:
Thursday evening wave height forecast (5 to 10 feet, north to south in New England waters):
Add Gonzalo to the mix this weekend, and waves will be relentless! Though the largest wave action will undoubtedly end up from Bermuda to the Grand Banks this weekend, the New England to Nova Scotia corridor sees plenty of swell building, as well. Surfers in New England can start getting excited for a prolonged period of wave action, but mariners need to be aware that the one-two punch of storms will first stir the seas close to home, then in the Maritimes, late this week. Scroll down for a few wave forecast time periods:
Friday Morning Wave Height Forecast (7 to 10 feet in New England):
Sunday Morning Wave Height Forecast (6 to 9 feet in New England, but significantly higher in the Maritimes!):
For these reasons, New England mariners will want to plan carefully and cautiously for any late-season, long trips in the coming days.
Weather Stories
Matt
