SOARING FORECAST, MARCH 30 to April 2, 2012

WEEKEND SOARING FORECAST, MARCH 30 to April 2, 2012

THIS WEEK Nice sunny soaring weather is forecast throughout this period. Temps will be a few degrees above normal. Westerlies will prevail with a dry offshore (albeit gentle) northerly component arriving Monday. Friday the calm wind and highest temps of the weekend will make for some good thermal conditions for those who can make it out on a workday. Not to worry, the rest of the weekend will have good thermal potential also. Monday the wind will clock to the North as a gentle offshore flow develops. Throughout this period the coastal areas will likely be under a marine layer while we enjoy bright sunny weather. Dale assures us that we can expect thermals every day now barring overcast conditions. Come on out!I WAS ON VACATIONSo I was not able to post last weeks soaring forecast. My weather post for the March 16 - 19 weekend I forecast significant wave conditions. ...And our pilots reported some healthy wave that lasted several days. At times we had rotor touch down at the field forcing us to temporarily halt operations. Dale had a "fun" lesson with a student where they encountered upwards of 2,000 feet a minute of sink in the pattern due to "wave sink". It always pays to plan ahead in those conditions. They dove into ground effect at 100 knots and executed a textbook landing as they safely popped back onto the field at a 90 degree angle to the runway. Many pilots picked off excellent wave flights that weekend.THIS FRIDAYDR JACKS blipmap forecast points to thermal conditions lasting far into the afternoon. Likely due to the calm wind and high temps it'll be the best thermal day this period. The following thermal forecast is for 4pm. SATURDAY AM UPDATE:THE WEATHER SERVICE HAS UPDATED ITS WINDS FORECAST AND WE EXPECT SOME WAVE SATURDAY. WINDS ALOFT AT 9,000 FEET ARE 30 KNOTS AT 240 DEGREES. GUSTY SURFACE CONDITIONS WILL PREVAIL THROUGH SUNDAY PM.

The National Weather Service is predicting the following local surface conditions for Friday through Monday:

FRIDAY: Sunny. Temperature: 76 degreesWind: Southwest 10 to 15 mph.SATURDAY: Sunny, Temperature: 68 degreesWind: Southwest 15 to 25 mph.SUNDAYSunny, Temperature: 62 degreesWind: Northwest 15 to 25 mph.MONDAY:Sunny, Temperature: 69 degreesWind: Northeast 10 to 15 mph.email weather comments to robert.settle@gmail.com