This Week @ GGC: Windy wavy Sunday, June 12

As I sit in Kanata, I can hear the wind. Mother Nature is unhappy... The public forecast says it's a NW wind, 24 gusting 44 kph. I wondered if there would be wave with that wind. I took a look at the visible NE satellite view; yup. Wave in Ontario, NY, Vermont, New Hampshire, and also, as far south as Pennsylvania (no marker clouds in the blue, but it's probably wavy to Williamsport.

Here's the satellite shot, and the winds aloft at Plattsburg, NY (which we use as an indicator for Lake Placid wave).

On the satellite shot, you can see gaps in the clouds; these are:

"foehn gap

A break in an extensive cloud deck or cloud shield, usually a band parallel to and downwind of the mountain ridge line.

Especially visible in satellite pictures, this cloud-free zone results from the strong sinking motion on the lee side of a mountain barrier during a foehn or chinook."

Specifically, the sinking motion increases the pressure, which heats the air, which allows it to hold more moisture... Same effect that heats a pump when you inflate a bike tire.

The Terminal Airdrome Forecast for Saranac Lake (KSLK) - the closest airport with a forecast - shows:

TAF: KSLK 121126Z 1212/1312 VRB06KT P6SM OVC025 FM121300 29015G26KT P6SM BKN035 FM121700 29015G27KT 4SM -SHRA BR OVC030 FM130000 30012G21KT 4SM -SHRA BR OVC020 FM130200 30011G20KT P6SM VCSH OVC020 FM131000 30009KT P6SM OVC020

We'd probably plan runway 32 in Lake Placid, and look for the wave at Whiteface. It will be a bouncy sorta day for sightseeing rides with Adirondack Air Services!

Even on a 'sucky' day, you can learn something! The club plans to do a mountain soaring camp again this year, October 1-10.