Thermal troughs are influencing our weather, but what are they?

Today we talk about a weather term that’s bandied about but I bet hardly anyone knows what it means: thermal trough. It’s influencing our weather this weekend. It has to do with heat and wind, and the natural inclination of our world to seek balance in all things.

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Cruise ship hits an iceberg off southeast Alaska

A cruise ship that has visited Astoria before was cruising the waters off Hubbard Glacier in the southeast area of Alaska waters, an area common for cruises, and hit an iceberg.

It’s an odd story, but maybe no longer quite so odd. Experts have warned us for years now that melting northern ice will mean more free floating ice chunks and more potential danger for ships.

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The Pacific Tracker heads downriver today

The Pacific Tracker is a US Department of Defense missile tracking ship, homeported in Portland at the shipyard at Swan Island. She carries big rafar arrayson deck, hidden under covers that look like giant golf balls. So it’s hard to miss her as she goes by.

Photo courtesy marinetraffic.com. Photographer: Mike Cullom, Puget Island in the Columbia River. 2021-06-09 12:16

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The infamous Columbia River Bar

I was reading, in a sailing Facebook group that I belong to, about a person who just bought a new sailboat and is contemplating making the trip down the coast from the Strait of Juan de Fuca to Astoria in the ocean. They were asking the group for advice. That got me thinking about the infamous Columbia River Bar and how important timing your arrival can be if you’re going to safely cross. So we’ll talk about the bar, and why it’s such a bear.

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Turning basins on the Columbia River

Today we talk about “turning basins” on the Columbia River: what they are, where they are, and why a ship might need one.

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While we’re talking about water safety, let’s talk about the River

Today, a look at the swift moving currents on the Columbia, and what they mean for boaters and people who may end up in the water. Boating here means considering and working with current – it’s your constant companion if you are in a boat on the Columbia.

Image: This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. Photographer Stteve Morgan.

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As the weather gets nice, remember the water is cold

A caring reminder that with our first nice weekend of the season, people will be flocking to our beaches. So go out there and have a good time. But remember, it’s the Pacific Northwest, not a tropical resort.

Let’s remember that though the air is warm, the water remains dangerously cold.

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Solstice, what does it really mean?

We’ll talk today about some of those events in the astronomical calendar that define our seasons. One of them is the summer solstice. But wait, if you’re in the southern hemisphere it’s the winter solstice. What’s up with that?

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Well, the weather’s getting nice…

Well, the weather’s getting nice and you know what that means… people will start going out on the water in boats – everything from kayaks to sailboats to power boats.

So let’s talk a little about what to do if you’re on one, and it starts to sink. This happens probably more often than you realize.

A few tips on how to call for help if you need it.

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Good Samaritan saves a fisherman in trouble

A crisis on the water off Manzanita in the ocean this weekend: a commercial fishing boat caught fire and the captain, the only person on board, had to jump into the ocean to save himself. Fortunately, he was rescued by a nearby boater. We’ll talk about the tradition and legality of doing the right thing at sea.

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