There’s be
en three times I’ve seen low pressure systems stacked up like in this diagram from the National Weather Service. Twice I was on expeditions. Last weekend was the third time, during the instructor development workshop (IDW) in Big Bay.
For reference, under that cluster of low pressure systems is the Midwest and Rocky Mountain regions.
During the expeditions, it caused me to spend time waiting out the storms – 5 days out of 10 total on one trip, 10 days in a row on another. The IDW in Big Bay has been held since 1999 and this past weekend had the roughest conditions yet. Saturday we had snow, which is not unusual by itself, except it was accompanied this time by gale force winds. The first time winds have been that strong at the Big Bay IDW which is held in mid to late may.
It is never a good thing seeing the pressure systems stacked up to the west. Essentially, you know the weather is going to be unstable for a while. It can create a great playground if you are training, it can also stop you in your tracks if you are trying to cover miles.
Click here to see the latest National Weather Service chart like the one above.
sam