Middle Texas Coastal Waters
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Swell 65 72 76 79 83 86 Gulf of Mexico Water Temperatures Jan Apr Aug Feb May Nov Mar Jun Dec Wind Climatology Average Number of Days W/ SCA 16.0 14.0 12.0 Port O'Connor 10.0 Baffin Bay 8.0 Port Aransas 6.0 Bouy 20 4.0 2.0 0.0 Jul. Mar. Apr. May Jun. Aug. Sep. Oct. Nov. Dec. Jan. Feb. Spring Pattern Cold L Warm H Strong Onshore Winds Spring Pattern Cold H L Warm Strong H Onshore Winds Summer Pattern Cool L H Hot Light H Onshore Winds Common Strong Wind Patters Strong Arctic/Canadian Cold Fronts: Late Fall – Early Spring Tends to produce strongest winds offshore Common Strong Wind Patterns South Texas Coastal Trough/Low: Late Fall – Early Spring Tends to produce strongest winds in northern waters Common Strong Wind Patters Low pressure across the plains: Spring / Fall Tends to produce strongest winds in southern bays and nearshore waters Common Strong Wind Patters High / Low combo: Fall - Spring Tends to produce strongest winds in northeastern waters Influence of Cold Shelf Waters Strongly mixed layer over warm Well mixed layer over Lifts into LLJ over stable warmer ocean waters Land (WS: layer (WS: 35 kts) 22 – 30 kts) (WS: 20 kts) Stable (WS: 10-15 kts) Mexican mountains promote low pressure near the Rio Grande which coincides with Flow morethe parallel position to the of thecoast heat and low. Isotherms promotes a stronger Temp gradient and stronger Sea breeze L Marine Nocturnal Jet Boundary Layer Acceleration Nocturnal Zone Well Inversion (WS: 20-25 kt) Mixed Stable (WS 10 kt) WS: 17-20kt Warm SSTs What’s Causing the Timing Difference? SCAs Per Hour SCAs Per Hour Baffin Bay (May 2000-2004) Port O'Connor (May 1999-2004) 40 40 30 30 20 Sea 20 Nocturnal SCAs SCAs 10 Breeze 10 Jet 0 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Hour (UTC) Hour (UTC) SCAs Per Hour SCAs Per Hour Port Aransas (May 1999-2004) Buoy 20 (May 1999-2004) 40 20 30 15 Nocturnal 20 10 Nocturnal SCAs Jet SCAs 10 5 Jet 0 0 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 Hour (UTC) Hour (UTC) Lapse Rates NAM 0-1 km Lapse Rates: 6Z May 7, 2010 Better Instability Pushes Into NRN bays Basic NWS Marine Terminology Data Sources www.tcoon.org/map www.tcoon.org/map www.tcoon.org/map Background Info – CRP CWA/MWA Who Are Our Marine Customers? Port of Corpus Christi 40 Miles Of Ship Channel EXCALIBUR CHENIER GULF TPCO E AIR LIQUIDE COMPRESS SHERWIN BUCKEYE/ HALIBURTON TRAFIGUR VOESTALPIN ALUMINA A E ADM GRAIN SUPERIOR PLAINS ELEVATOR WEIGHTIN FLINT HILLS OXY M&G G NuStar ETHYLENE AEP TEXAS VALERO CHENIERE DUPONT CONDENSA CASTLETO MARTIN TE N MIDSTREA M GULF MARINE CITGO EMAS WEST FABRICATORS FLINT HILLS BTB ELEMENTIS KIEWIT INGLESIDE LYONDELLBAS REFINING ELL CITGO EAST OXY ENERGY INTERSTATE PLAINS TOPAZ INGLESIDE GRAIN FLINT HILLS POWER PLAINS EAST GROUP TEXAS CELANESE LEHIGH/ BISHOP, TX PLAINS MARKWEST MAGELLAN NORTHERN JAVELINA WHITESAND BAY Sea Breeze Sea Breeze L H Sea Breeze Impacts Non-Deep Convection Related Waterspouts Tidal Flooding Moon’s Effects on Tides Moon’s Effects on Tides Other Influences on Tides High Tide RKP Aransas Pass Incoming high tide CRP reaches the shoreline and filters through available inlets. High tide occurs last in the back bays furthest from Gulf inlets. 3/31/2016 Low Tide RKP Low tide occurs at Aransas Pass the coast first and water flows out of the CRP bays to fill the void. Therefore, low tide will occur last in the back bays furthest from the inlets. 3/31/2016 Tidal Flooding High/Low Astronomical Tides January Low Astronomical Tides < 1 foot above MSL October High Astronomical Tides > 2 feet above MSL Currents Summer Spring & Fall Weak Onshore Flow Strong Alongshore Flow Rip Currents Rip Current Forecasting Sea Fog Sea Fog Impacts from Sea Fog Special Marine Warnings Cold Fronts Cold Fronts - Gales Questions? .