Extreme Kites Kiteboarding

Since not everyone who reads this forum is from northeast Florida, I thought I would take a few minutes to describe our typical windy season here. Our wind seems to come from a difference in temperature between air, water, and land depending on the season. For that reason, the wind is lightest in winter and summer, when the temperatures of all 3 factors are about the same. So here is a general synopsis on our windy seasons here in St. Augustine and Jacksonville.

There are generally 4 seasons like anywhere else, and they are as follows:
Summer - June 1 through August 31 - most summers the monsoonal afternoon thunderstorms start around 2-3 p.m. and last for a couple of hours most days from June through middle of July. For anyone who has not experienced a garden variety Florida thunderstorms, be prepared to witness the fury of nature. Keep an eye on the weather if you brave the early afternoon sea breeze, because storms develop rapidly and often move in quickly with very little warning. Towards the end of July, we start to dry out a little, and often times the Bermuda high pressure system gets firmly entrenched off our coast. This can and often does create a nice 15-20 knot thermal sea breeze each afternoon, especially if there is a frontal low or dip in the jet stream over the southeastern U.S. Hurricane season starts June 1, but typically does not heat up until August, when tropical systems passing close by Florida's east coast can bring solid wind and waves for a few days before moving on.
Fall - September 1 through December 15 - sometimes earlier, sometimes later, but typically September brings a welcome change in the weather. Cold fronts start to be more active this time of year, and can bring wind whether they pass through our area or stall to our north. In La Nina years, often strong Canadian high pressure will become entrenched over the mid-Atlantic and northeast, bringing days to weeks of 20-25 knot northeast winds and strengthen in the early to late afternoon and evening. Water temps range from low 80s in September to mid-60s by early December. We live for the fall.
Winter - December 15 through March 15 - time to go south. While S. Florida, the Keys and the Bahamas enjoy near constant NE and E breezes in the 20-30 knot range, N. Florida is iffy at best, and can be downright dreary. Daytime high temps range from the upper 70s to low 40s, and lows can easily get down into the high teens. Water temps drop into the low 50s, and it the past few winters I have enjoyed having a 5/3 wetsuit to combat fluky chilly winds. There are lots of offshore days from the W and SW if you do not mind a few gusts, but the best bet is to travel. Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic enjoy near constant trade winds and solid N swells from storms well to the north. Why freeze and slog when you can warm up and RIDE!
Spring - March 15 through May 31 - spring in N. Florida is quickly becoming one of my favorite seasons of the year. My in-laws have been coming for the past few years with their friends from Massachusetts in March and April, and their only complaint is that it is too windy. Sounds good to me! Frontal winds this time of year mean northeast winds after fronts and southeast winds ahead of fronts, with a few gusty strong west wind days scattered in between. If you are know where to go, you can ride 4-5 days a week from mid-March through the end of May.

Kite size - average wind conditions are in the 15-25 knot range, with the odd 30-40 knot day thrown in. Most days a 9 or 13 meter will be perfect, but there could be days where you will be hoping for a 5 or 7 depending on your weight. There is not much flat water in St. Augustine, so you will be riding alot of chop and waves. Downwinders are the key to having fun in the waves, and our tidal inlets can be great for opposing current on the right tides.

In case you don't know where to go, we have created a Google Map with all of the spots, and you can download a KMZ file for Google Earth:
http://www.oceanextremesports.com/catal ... ustine.php

Also, check out the local wind report for the latest forecasts and conditions:
http://www.oceanextremesports.com/catal ... report.php

Great info. I live here and still appreciate the insight for the seasons.

Since we are experiencing a classic El Nino winter here in northeast Florida, I thought it would be a good time to delve into the difference between El Nino and La Nina. Here is the NOAA discussion on our winter season:
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories200 ... tlook.html

Basically, what happens in El Nino is that the southern branch of the jet stream is energized by warmer than normal water temperatures in the central Pacific. This causes an active southern storm track that typically comes out of the Gulf of Mexico and up the east coast of the United States. Low pressure systems moving close by our area make the weather quite variable and thus unpredictable. The net result if cooler than average temperatures and wetter conditions especially as we head into spring. The wind is typically more from the west and northwest in the dead of winter.

The opposite condition, La Nina, typically results in high pressure over the east coast of the United States with storms going up and over, creating a more stable weather pattern for us and more consistent wind from the NE. Our best fall seasons typically coincide with La Nina, and I have heard that the Caribbean trade winds are much more consistent in La Nina winters as well.

The upside of this current stretch of cold weather is that we are getting primed for an epic springtime pattern. Our wind here depends on the difference between water and air temperatures, and with water temperatures dropping to their lowest in several years here, it is just priming the pump. The other thing to remember is that in springtime during El Nino typically we start getting low pressure digging off the east coast instead of just moving up into the northeast. This should send us larger than normal long-period ground swell. Our wind typically does not come back in earnest until the springtime pattern shift around the middle of March, so until then stay warm and think about heading somewhere much further south!