RE: [Paddlewise] Weather

  With all of this discussion on weather and weather education let's not
lose sight of the fact that there really isn't any good substitute for
local knowledge and _experience_.  (Well, as Ralph so sagely noted, a
good NOAA weather report is certainly quite useful also.)  My point is
simply that, while I had a ton of practical experience and also a fair
amount of formal and semi-formal "book learnin" of weather conditions; I
had to throw many of my pre-conceptions out the window when I moved from
the Midwest (Lake Michigan) to Alaska.  Many of the signs, trends etc
that I knew would bring certain types of weather on the waters of Lake
Michigan don't apply here in SE Alaska at all.  Some of the generalities
apply, but many things are different.  Yes, a low is still a low and a
20 knot wind out of the south over a long fetch will still build up some
good sized waves, but there are things that are different - vastly so.
Here, for instance, a strong wind out of the North typically brings
clear skies, not a wicked winter storm....  And tides - well, I won't
even venture into the fun that 16-24 ft tides throw into the
equation<g>.
  A long winded way of saying, "Keep a weather eye peeled".  It's hard
to beat daily observation - we all live in places surrounded by the best
textbook around.

Dave Seng
Juneau, Alaska
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