It's Thermal Time!

Yay! It's that time of spring when the water is cold but the land warms during the long days, creating "thermal" winds in coastal areas. These thermals are especially strong where they are funneled into narrow bays or gorges. San Francisco and the Columbia River Gorge are the ultimate examples, but the effect occurs in the lil' ol' York River, too. In fact, when the thermal effect is happening, it's often windier here in my little spot than it is anywhere else in the Tidewater Virginia region. Observe the current readings from the iwindsurf.com sensors...



The York and James River entrances (circled in red) have pretty good wind because of the thermal funnel effect, while the rest of the region is bleah.