Re: [Paddlewise] Barometer/Altimeter as Weather Predictor

Dave wrote;

.
>
>I was just getting off the water at 1 pm PDT (4 pm EDT), some 20 miles east
of
>the place these weather parameters were recorded, when the front hit.  Even
>though this was a small front, conditions changed quickly from mild, mill
pond
>stuff to 2-3 foot wind waves and moderate rain (where I was).
>
>Note that there was **very little** pressure change to signal the front.
>
>The front *was* predicted by the NWS (although prediction of the time of
its
>arrival was vague) and could be seen approaching about an hour before it
hit.
>Somebody with his head in a tent, watching the barometer, would have been
>*almost clueless* about the front's approach.  OTOH, there was a definite
>temperature change, and an obvious change in wind direction and speed.


As Dave has shown, one cannot rely upon one weather indicator. To get a good
picture of weather change one needs to keep track of wind, waves,
temperature, etc. Even then you can make a mistake. The barometer provides
additional information that in conjunction with other signs improves your
accuracy.

Even though a barometer by itself cannot predict the weather (Ambrose Bierce
defined a barometer as "An ingenious instrument which indicates what kind of
weather we are having.") I think paddlers can find them useful when
combining the pressure trends with their observations of wind etc.

The El Cheapo models won't bankrupt a paddler either.

ETC.

Cheers,
John Winters
Redwing Designs
Web site address, http://home.ican.net/~735769



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