I am sad to say that last weekend I witnessed fishing here in Charleston hit a low! A big offshore weekend was planned by many with both the SCSSA Oceanic Tournament and the Fifty-Fifty Tournament scheduled out of the Ripley Light Yacht Club. As the weekend approached expectations of a fun filled fishing and great parties began to fall as fast as the barometer. A low pressure system moved in off the Coast of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina spawning high winds, rain, and heavy seas ruining a great tournament weekend for many.
I fish a relatively small boat (23-foot center console Contender), and therefore I must really pick my days weather wise. I usually start watching the weather 3 to 4 days ahead of when I want to fish. Since the NOAA weather forecast usually only runs a day to a day and a half out, I watch the National Weather Map checking the positions of frontal boundaries, and watch the barometric pressure in an attempt to judge the forecast myself. Keep in mind I am not a Meteorologist, and at no time do I solely rely on my own forecasting abilities. I always listen to the latest marine weather forecast prior to leaving the dock.
The barometer is by far one of the best instruments for forecasting. Once you know a little bit about how to read them and what other conditions to monitor you can develop your own forecast relatively easily. Provided herein are just a few rules for reading a barometer and interpreting changes in barometric pressures.
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Single barometer readings are not generally useful for forecasting weather. Readings must be recorded at regular intervals so that their patterns can be examined over time.
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There are normal diurnal changes in barometric pressures. Pressures generally reach their maximum at 10 am and 10 p.m. and their minimum about 4 am and 4 p.m. A standard diurnal change would be as much as 0.05 inches or 0.01 inches per hour. Changes of up to 0.02 inches per hour are generally not considered to be indicative of major weather changes. Changes in