Weather Patterns

Sponsored by Rocky Mountian Feet 28 and Casper Boat Club.

Major Weather Patterns During Early September

Early in the morning, there is barely a wisp of air movement. As the

morning progresses, at about 10 a.m., the breeze starts to build. The

breeze will start filling in from the northeast or southwest. The

surrounding area of Casper, which includes Alcova, suffers from what is

called an up-slope condition. In layman's terms, this means steady,

good wind during September! The wind speed ranges anywhere from 5 to 40

knots. Wind oscillations can range from 5 to 180o. The puffs can come

from anywhere challenging your ability to read the water. The beauty of

Alcova Lake is that's it's virtually never the same twice. The evenings

at this time of year can be cool, but the wind is usually quiet making

the evenings very enjoyable.

Stormy weather patterns usually last for a day. There may be a squall

that comes through making everything tense for a while. When the squall

gets through spitting and sputtering, it only means one thing for a few

hours--great steady wind!

Alcova lake is located in a beautiful area with very unusual wind

patterns. This is not a lake that you want to set your sails and boat

on course and forget about everything. The biggest gains are to those

who watch the wind on the water as well as the flag poles at various

other clubs. There is an island in the middle of the lake. Alcova is

large enough to hold races in just the southern half or within the

entire length of the lake which is 5 miles long by 3 miles wide. The

island makes for a very interesting obstacle. Many times the space

between the island and shore acts like a venturi whereby the wind

substantially increases in velocity in just that area.

Lake Alcova looking to the south west.

Submitted by Kurt D. Vircks

Casper, Wyoming

kvircks@coffey.com