Today's Squall (7/30/20)
 

Took a couple of my wife's friends to Wolfeboro today (yay for chauffeuring) and on the way home we hit a storm wall. Lake went from calm to huge rollers (3'?) in seconds. We had cut towards Rattlesnake because it looked like a break in the line and only had, maybe, ten minutes in the storm but it was ROUGH. Came out to sunshine on the other side, just in time to cut north to Ragged and HITW.

Anyone else get caught in it today?

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"Caught", but On the Porch...
 

A couple of the usual rainstorms had passed in front of the Ossipee Mountains—lastly reaching only halfway across Winter Harbor when a bolt of lightning signaled a rather sudden increase in wind. :eek2: (I need to secure a sailboat better. :o)

Last winter's windfall-tree broke off a couple of supporting neighboring branches—lowering the whole tree another 15 feet. (I need to move a canoe. :o).

Trees groaned under the wind's pressure, and the lake did look angry.

But the worst Winter Harbor's waves ever looked was in two separate storms, where nothing but white spray could be seen—no waves at all! :eek:

Been caught in that same situation too many times,,,

And when we were in 20' or smaller outboard boats in my youth it used to get a bit unnerving.

The worst is when you are already out in the middle of the lake when it hit.

On a couple of occasions when I was in Wolfeboro or maybe we were water skiing over by the cluster of islands south east of Wolfeboro (Varney Islands?) I found it was actually better to come around by Barndoor Island and cut across from Clay Point to Smalls Cove rather than go back and cross the lake from Wolfeboro across the middle of the lake to rattlesnake Island. You just got so beat up in those little boats and often you got very wet,,,

Passengers would be terrified being out in the middle of the lake in a storm, but once you got behind the islands you got a lot of protection from the wind and waves.

Unfortunately, very active lightning only compounded the situation,,,

Then if you are there after the storm blows through, the lake is often amazingly peaceful, almost picture perfect. Well sometimes,,,

Glad you broke through and had that positive post-storm calm to end the trip. Now everyone had a story to tell about how you pulled them through!

Yeah, I realized I should've gone behind Rattlesnake when I was approximately halfway past Rattlesnake!

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Did your wife’s friends enjoy the ride on your new GTX?;)

Hahahaha!

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We were near ragged, that was a cold wind swept rain. Glad it passed quickly. But have had many years on this lake. Weather can change very quickly...

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I was anchored at Silver Sands and looked up and saw the clouds and decided to head back.

By the time the anchor was being lifted, the rain started.

As we passed Varney Point, I saw someone's large inflatable swim raft flying three feet above the surface of the water, and it was tethered to a mooring! I thought it was going to be tough to get into my slip, and considered heading to the broads to ride it out.

By the time I made it into Smith Cove, the LWSA was trying to retrieve all their overturned students from the water.

As I pulled up to the dock the worst had passed, by the time the lines were secure, the sun was coming out again. I felt lucky.

Hot and humid days
 

It has amazed me over the years, and still does, how quickly weather can build and turn a nice day on the lake to one one of those OMG days.

Almost any hot and humid day will have 40% (or greater) chance of Thunderstorms attached to the forecast. The % is sometimes misleading because it refers to the % of the forecast area (land area) that will receive precipitation. These forecasts usually have a statement that some storms may have strong winds, heavy rain, and possible hail. No big deal unless you happen to be involved in some form of outdoor activity, including boating in that % area.

My advice is when you are out on a day like this, check your favorite weather app often. These storms can build quickly, but you do get a bit of a warning. Those little circles of green can quickly build to yellow and red. Put the radar in motion and be ready to move out well before it reaches you. Better to err on the side of caution. Most of these storms will approach from the SW to the NW.

The lake can become very unforgiving in a very short time. Be safe out there.

(My "advice" comes from lesson learned.)

Dave

I've been using MyRadar, which has been awesome. I think I learned about it here.

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I use MyRadar every day.

It's a great focused purpose app.

I tried MyRadar (on Think's suggestion) but could not find hourly wind forecasts. To me these are second only to lightning in terms of importance. Was I having a brain cramp while using?

Same here, lighting is my #1 concern followed by wind.

I could careless about a downpour if the wind it not bad.

You can turn on lightning as well as wind vector. They are no cost optional settings that may be off by default.

I use it to track and see storms and where they will end up.