The Norte Wind Pattern

The Norte wind Patern off Loreto Explained

"What's the weather going to be like tomorrow?"

We will be asked this question several hundred times throughout the winter season which is considered to be from November to the beginning of April. This time of year its not easy to predict near future weather conditions like it is in the summertim. In early summer we have a stable high pressure zone off the Pacific coast of California USA that keeps our coast clear. In late summer, storms that spin off from the ITCZ (Inter Tropical Convergence Zone) are monitored via satellite and we can see them coming one to two weeks ahead of time. The winter conditions are more difficult because wind does not make its presence known as easily.

In Loreto, we are lucky enough to have a very good indicator, short of staying up all night long and listening for wind (which we do!). It can give you an educated guess on what the following day will be like out on the water. It will tell you if mañana will be windy or calm.

We refer to it as the "Wind Line".

In winter we play it by ear and plan fishing one day to the next. So when folks come into the shop and ask us this question, I tell them to "go to the waterfront and take a look at the horizon", "wear polarizing sunglasses", and "Look for a wind line".

	Look to the north where it is usually the strongest- at the horizon north of and east of Isla Coronado. The wind line appears as a darker colored band of air right above the water level. It is marked here with the arrows.

	The line is usually stronger, or more visible to the north than directly to the east of us. Perhaps the Island helps to make it more visible.

	Often on a very windy day the line will extend all the way across the channel that separates Isla Coronado from Isla Carmen. Here the line is visible over Punta Tintorerra (Isla Carmen).

One thing I should mention is that my camera does not pick up the line very well. It is much more visible when I look at it through polarizing sunglasses, or even with uncovered eyes than it appears here in these images. I woll work on making an instructional video on how to recognize this wind pattern in the future.

The wind line is most visible in the afternoon. It is also most visible on a clear or mostly clear day, as clouds will interfere with your ability to see it.

When you see the wind line during November through April, chances are that it will be windy the next day. And the winds will be classic north winds. Classic north winds have a few characteristics: they only blow during daylight hours, they bring cold air with them and they start after sunrise when the air heats up over land and mixes with the cold air over the water. At night the north winds stop and the air remains cold and still. If these characteristics are present then expect classic nortes (nor-TAYS, north winds).

Norte winds will come on gradually throughout the morning. At what time they start will depend on how strong they are. They can start as early as a half hour after sunrise or as late as midday. This is why we often have a few hours in the morning that we can fish close in. The afternoons are the strongest wind times and that is probably why the wind line is most visible then. The wind line is actually particulates (dust) that's being carried by wind that is blowing to the north of us. The dust particles are being blown over the water a long distance and the line just happens to be a very good indicator, from our perspective, of what the following day will bring.

Keep an eye on the wind line throughout the afternoon and into the evening. If it remains prominent to an hour before sunset, it will be windy the following day. If the line weakens in intensity or disappears altogether, the following day will probably be wind free (or the winds will come from a different direction). In predicting north winds, this method is accurate at least 85% of the time. If you are crazy enough to stay up all night to listen to the wind (like we are) and you start to hear wind during the night-time hours, you can bet the farm that they are prevailing from a direction other than true north. West and Northwest prevailing winds are famous for howling throughout the night, and the air that comes along with them is generally not as cold as a still night before a norte wind day. Now you have it!

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