The Most Recent Ship Report Podcast:

As our spring weather forecast evolves, a look ahead at La Nina and El Nino in the Pacific

According to UW meteorologist Cliff Mass, we have some rain coming our way this week and later in the month. It's a sign of a switch from La Nina to El Nino conditions in the Pacific. Today we'll take a look at what these two climate terms mean.

Archive Podcasts:

Maritime resources converge on North Atlantic rescue site

Jun 22, 2023

It’s a longstanding maritime ethic that mariners go all out to help one another when there’s a crisis. There’s one now happening in the North Atlantic, as maritime resources converge on a spot 900 miles off Cape Cod to search for a missing submersible with tourists on board.

Lost submersible accident shows us that rescue may not always be possible

Jun 21, 2023

The eyes of the world are currently on a spot in the vast North Atlantic, where rescuers are searching for a small submersible. It disappeared while carrying tourists who hoped to see the wreck of the Titanic on the ocean floor 2.5 miles down.

The rescue effort shows the limitations and reality of what rescuers can do for us, and what they sometimes can’t. And why we need to do all we can to give our rescuers a leg up in helping us survive a mishap at sea.

Waterspouts sighted off Oregon coast

Jun 20, 2023

It’s deja vu all over again: waterspouts are back off the Oregon Coast. In 2016, a waterspout came ashore and the tornado ripped through Manzanita, causing $1 million in damages, although no one was injured.

These formations are associated with strong thunderstorms and we’ve seen them more often off the coast in recent years.

The best way to handle a waterspout at sea (or on land as a tornado) is to avoid it.

The back eddy: a cool and sometimes useful tidal anomaly on the Columbia

Jun 16, 2023

I happened to be looking out over the Columbia River in Astoria this week and saw an interesting water anomaly that I’d never noticed before. It turned out to be an effect from a tidal eddy, something to watch out for if you’re in a small boat, and another sign of the power of our mighty river and the moon and sun, which conspire together to create our tides.

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