Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Cathy Strine at Camp Bay Beach, where LOTS of folks are going to be this weekend. We have a storm over La Ceiba at 7:15 a.m. and the hope of rain today. The front is passing over us now.

In the satellite you can see the front extending north to south. On the west side of the front we have gusty west/northwest winds around 20 mph. Those will continue most of the day today. Scattered showers will be around all day into tonight. Tomorrow we will have north winds at 20-25 mph giving us 5 foot seas on the north side. Any rain tomorrow morning will be light.In the satellite you can see the front extending north to south. On the west side of the front we have gusty west/northwest winds around 20 mph. Those will continue most of the day today. Scattered showers will be around all day into tonight. Tomorrow we will have north winds at 20-25 mph giving us 5 foot seas on the north side. Any rain tomorrow morning will be light.

In the infrared satellite you can see that most of the rain is focused on the mainland, but there are clouds extending to Utila and west side of the big island

At 7:15 we have a few stations reporting rain in West End and near Mud Hole. If you see rain, let us know.

This is a big day for trips to and from the mainland, with four round trips on the Galaxy Wave!

And a big week at Ikigai by Robby Molina

High tides are pretty low and low tide will be 4 p.m. Have a great Thursday!

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Marcey McNab in Oak Ridge and perfectly captures the smoky haze we’ve been dealing with. Fortunately we have a cold front coming tomorrow just in time!

This is a map showing the levels of carbon monoxide in the atmosphere. CO is produced by burning and we have a lot of it in our air. This can mean breathing issues for sensitive folks, so one more day of caution outside before our front comes to clear our air.

Today will be hazy and hot. Yesterday we got to 90 at the airport and many of us got a little higher than that on our thermometers. I hit 92 here in Jonesville Point and Sandy Bay hit 93. These are unheard of temps for March around here. Fortunately we will have relief with clouds and rain tomorrow, followed by the north wind Friday. Rain will be off-and-on with perhaps some thunder. Rain will start around 6 a.m. and scattered showers will be around through the night. Rain should come to an end Friday morning. We should get 1-2 inches across our islands. Most of Good Friday and Saturday will be sunny and dry. There will be a small chance of a morning shower Sunday morning.

We will have west winds 10-15 mph this morning, but those should calm this afternoon. Tomorrow we will have west/northwest winds 15-20 mph and gusty in squalls. Friday we will have north winds 17-22 mph and seas 5 feet on the north side, calming slightly in the afternoon. Saturday winds will be much lighter from the east, 5-10 mph. Sunday we get a return to strong easterly trade winds.

Just a reminder that there is a special midweek ferry to Guanaja this morning and an extra roundtrip to the mainland on the Galaxy Wave!

Low tide is 3:30 p.m. Have a great Wednesday!

Good morning Bay Islands. Michelle Widd had a great idea. Let’s put together flora, fauna and a beautiful sunset. Here’s her shot from Palmetto Bay with Man o War Cay in the background. Like her photo for a chance at $50 in Roatan Pets food in the contest on Pascua Sunday. Winds will continue to be confusing this week, and rain is moving more toward Thursday and less toward Friday in the forecast. Just a heads up that I will be posting a video later today about our incoming cold front.

Let’s start with today and tomorrow: As you can see in the 7 a.m. wind map, we start the day with calmer winds west Roatan and Utila, but with 10-15 mph east winds east Roatan and Guanaja. This should more or less continue through the morning, At midday our winds turn to the northeast at 15 mph. Overnight into tomorrow morning our winds turn to the west at 15 mph, so there will be 3 foot waves, even for normally calm West Bay. Winds get calmer tomorrow afternoon with no rain either day.

We will have a cloudy day on Thursday and most of the models say rain chances will increase through the day with scattered showers, with the best chance of heavy rain Thursday night. Friday morning there will be some lingering showers but things should clear up a bit. It should be pretty wavy for the folks with a day off to go to Camp Bay beach on the northside, with 20 mph north winds that day. Saturday looks pretty dry but Pascua Sunday morning will have a small chance of a morning shower.

Regardless of the rain amounts, we should get a cooldown. We’ve been very hot as you can see in this temperature anomaly map, which shows how much above or below normal the heat over our heads is. Yesterday the airport got to 88 degrees (31C) and many of us got to 90 (32C). I don’t have to tell you that with a dewpoint at 80 (27C) that made it pretty hot. Thursday will be cooler because we will have a cloudy day, but Friday and Saturday will be quite comfortable even in the sun, with highs probably around 82 (28C) and lows perhaps around 72 (22C). Even after we get back to warmer weather on Pascua Sunday, it will be more normal for this time of year, 84-85 (29C).

The ICON is the most optimistic, giving us 2 inches of rain through Good Friday morning.

Here is the GFS which puts us right around an inch.

Here is the Euro model for rainfall through Good Friday morning, which gives us less rain, probably half an inch, with Puerto Cortes having all the fun.

A big shoutout to Roatan Pets for sponsoring this month’s contest. Please remember that 10 percent of proceeds goes to the needy pets supported by Roatan Operation Animal Rescue, a worthy cause if ever there was one.

Low tide is 3 p.m. Have a great Tuesday!

Our photo of the day comes from Anja Weyers in Sandy Bay and shows just some of our beautiful island flora, called frangipani or plumeria. I have gotten some feedback to see more flora and fauna in photos of the day and fewer sunrises and sunsets. What do you think? Let me know your thoughts.

Today is the easy day to forecast. We start with 25 mph east winds and seas 4 feet on the south side. That should ease a bit to 15 mph midday but get back to 20-25 mph east winds by evening. We will have clear skies and no rain today.

Tuesday through Thursday the wind situation will be hard to predict, because we have winds from different directions moving in and out. Tuesday looks like the calmest day with winds around 10 mph, but from various directions depending where you are on our islands.
Wednesday looks like a day of 15 mph west winds.
Thursday winds are calmer around 7-12 mph but also start to turn to the north.

Models are still looking good for us to get rain from Thursday evening through the day on Friday. They disagree somewhat on whether we get more rain late Thursday or early Friday, but that is the time period to look for rain. Also, Friday looks to be a day of brisk north winds and waves on the north side, though the EURO wants to put the biggest waves into Friday evening, whereas the GFS says the morning will be windy.

With a complex wind pattern, you need to choose Jolly Roger Roatan for your excursion. They know how to get you to a calm cove to make the most of you time on the island!

Low tides are 2:30 p.m. and 3 a.m. under a full moon. Have a great week!

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Phil Sikora in Caribe Bight and reminds us that the moon becomes full tonight. Those of you who know me know this is a very special night for me. I also know it kicks off a very special week for many of you. So let’s get to the forecast.

On our satellite at 6:50 a.m. we see a storm that has had some thunder in it just to the southwest of Utila. I imagine some folks, especially on the west side of the island, might have seen a little rain out of this, though most of the rain seems to be falling just to the west of La Ceiba. We have a few clouds toward Guanaja, but overall this morning looks dry for most of us unfortunately. Winds start out from the northeast 5-10 mph and seas 1-2 feet but should increase to 10-15 mph by midday and by afternoon turn to the east, giving us 2-3 foot waves coming from the northeast. Tonight we will have east winds around 20 mph.

The wind forecast for Semana Santa is already looking a bit complicated.
Monday: Moderate east winds 15 mph day, 25 mph night, seas 2-3 feet southside.
Tuesday: Probably the calmest day of the week with east/northeast winds 5-10 mph and seas 2 feet.
Wednesday: West/southwest winds 10-15 mph and seas 2-3 feet esp. north and west sides.
Thursday: Starts off quite calm in the morning but gets windy from the west in the afternoon.
Friday: Windiest day of the week with north winds around 20 mph and seas around 5 feet north side.
Thursday evening into Friday morning looks like the best chance at rain right now, though it seems many of these late season storm disappoint us when it comes to rain, so I’m not guaranteeing that we’ll get a lot.
Until Thursday we will stay hot and dry, but when the north wind gets here we should cool off for Friday and Saturday.

Semana Santa will be a big week at Ikigai by Robby Molina. Aside from Monday when they are closed, every day has something amazing to choose from, starting with Lobster Special today. I had it last Sunday and it was outstanding!

Low tides are 2:10 p.m and 2:30 a.m. As you can see, we enter full moon phase tonight, which means that at Kingdom Halls around the world, we will be observing the Memorial of Jesus’ Death. If anyone out there wants more information about attending any of the nine observances across our islands, please message me or text me at 9475-4406. Otherwise I will be offline until tomorrow morning. Have a great Sunday!

Our photo of the day comes from Julie Elpus at the far western tip of West Bay at dusk. If you’re at West Bay Beach this morning you’re seeing an unusual sight — waves caused by a west wind. We have a chance of rain tomorrow morning and a better chance of rain for Good Friday, along with some cooler temperatures.

Let’s start with what we’re seeing this morning. There are a few popcorn clouds out there and radar is showing a shower north of Guanaja that doesn’t seem to be moving much. We will keep a small chance of rain today under partly cloudy skies.

As you can see from this screenshot of a webcam, waves are hitting West Bay Beach because of 15 mph west winds this morning. We will have those winds through midday, but they will start to die down and the overnight will be quite calm. Tomorrow we will have north/northeast winds 10-15 mph and seas 3 feet on the north side, along with a 30 percent chance of a morning shower. Skies should be clear and light winds turning back to the east for the Memorial of Christ’s Death tomorrow night. Monday looks like a day with strong east winds, but Tuesday winds look milder and Wednesday winds turn back to the west in advance of the cold front coming at the end of the week.

Rainfall projections give us 1-2 inches by the end of the week. The cold front is still almost a week away, so this can change, but some rain Thursday night into Friday is looking quite likely.

I know the idea of getting rain this Friday is disappointing to a lot of folks, but on the bright side it will mean cooler temperatures, especially for Friday and Saturday. We’ve been quite a bit above average with highs 88-90 degrees (31-32C). When we get the cold front on Friday we should get knocked down to lows in the low 70s (22-23C) and highs around 81 (27C), which will feel very refreshing.

Just a quick reminder of the special ferry schedule for Semana Santa. Lots of opportunities to visit friends and relatives over the holiday week.

Low tides are 1:50 p.m. and 2 a.m. Have a great weekend!

ood morning Bay Islands. Melanie Wood sends us this morning’s Photo of the Day, taken at sunset from inside the Galaxy Wave as it goes through Port Royal on its way to Guanaja. Fortunately Melanie was comfortably protected from the seaspray by the Galaxy Wave’s comfortable interior space. We’ve had a windy morning, but the weekend and week ahead hold a couple of chance of rain.

Our satellite is quite clear this morning. Unlike yesterday, when we had a few clouds around and a few folks got a shower. We got a report of a downpour in Coxen Hole, though unfortunately we don’t have a rain gauge in Coxen Hole. Most other locations got only a trace to a hundredth of an inch. So hardly enough to wet the ground.

Our morning southeast winds of 20-25 mph and 4 foot southside seas, will calm by midday to 10-15 mph northeast winds and seas 2-3 feet. Winds will stay right around there overnight, we we will be calmer tonight than we were last night.

Saturday we will have a west winds in the morning right around 15 mph that will give us 2-3 foot seas on the north side. Saturday night winds will be light and variable, and Sunday we will have northeast winds 10-15 mph. Sunday morning we will have a 30 percent chance of a morning shower, the first of two chances for rain in our forecast. We will be dry Monday and Tuesday. Wednesday we will have another west wind followed by a decent chance of rain Thursday into Friday morning. I know lots of folks are hoping for dry conditions for the beach Friday, and whatever rain we get won’t be enough to ruin the day, just a shower or two here or there.

My wife, Miss Susan, couldn’t stop raving about the tender ribeye served up at Ikigai by Robby Molina. It can be a challenge to find a good steak on the island, and Ikigai doesn’t disappoint. And at $26 it is a bargain, compared to many other restaurants on the island that charge $35-$45 for a comparable cut.

Low tides are 1:30 p.m. and 1:30 a.m. Have a great Friday!

Good morning Bay Islands. This morning’s picture of the day comes from Judy Donie, taken at sunset at the top of Milton Bight of our waxing moon. Sunday night begins full moon for this month, the first full moon after spring starts.

Let’s start with our 7:15 a.m. satellite showing lots of popcorn clouds around and one of these might have a shower in it, though no weather station has picked up any rain as of 7:20. We will have these clouds around in the morning and then get clear for the afternoon. We will have mostly clear skies tomorrow and a few clouds around Saturday. We have a 20 percent chance of a morning shower on Sunday.

Wind and wave forecast: We start the morning with 10 mph east winds and 2 foot seas coming from the northeast so waves are similar on both sides of the island. Through the middle of the day winds and seas will stay the same, but as we get toward evening east winds will pick up to 20-25 mph and seas 3-4 feet on the south side. Tomorrow east winds will be 10-15 mph from the east and seas starting 2-3 feet and dropping to 1-2 feet by evening. We have a strange scenario with an east wind on Saturday morning. In the next three posts we will look at three different models and what they say about that wind.

We’ll start with the Euro which shows moderate west winds Saturday morning at 15 mph. A lot of boaters I talk to tend to prefer the Euro wind forecasts, but the accuracy of models can vary from day to day.

Here’s the GFS, the most commonly used model because it is provided for free from the US National Weather Service. It shows 18 mph winds from the west Saturday morning.

Finally here’s the ICON showing a bit windier morning on Saturday, but in general the ICON is one of the less accurate models for wind.

I know lots of folks are going to be buying lots of meats for grilling next week, and you can do no better than prime cuts of beef, chicken and pork from Carniceria Rosita.

Low tides are 1 p.m. and 1 a.m. Have a great Thursday.

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Amanda Anctil in Half Moon Bay-West End. Remember the five photos with the most likes compete March 31 for $50 in Roatan Pets food. Please send your photos to bookmybio@gmail.com with name and location. We have fairly calm conditions at sea and that will last at least through tomorrow morning.

We have a very few popcorn clouds on our satellite view, but not enough to worry about. We will be dry today. I will still keep in a 20 percent chance of a morning shower tomorrow morning. Other than that we should be dry until Sunday morning when we get another small chance of a morning shower. We reached 90 degrees again yesterday at the airport (32.2C) and nothing is changing as far as temperature goes, so upper 70s (26C) for lows and upper 80s to around 90 (31-32C) for highs.

Wind and wave forecast: We wake up to 10 mph winds from the northeast and seas around 1.5 feet on both sides of the islands. We will stay right around there for the rest of the week into the weekend with the exception of tomorrow night and Friday night, when we will see 20 mph east winds and 3 foot seas.

I know a lot of you are planning your trips for Semana Santa, so I have included the Galaxy Wave’s special expanded schedule for the week. Next week looks pretty good on the seas, with the waviest mornings being Tuesday morning and Wednesday morning, but even those morning we will only be at 4 foot seas, so all in all a great week for travel.

Low tides are 12:45 p.m. and 12:45 a.m. Have a great Wednesday!

Good morning Bay Islands. Our photo of the day comes from Deanna Jones in Turquoise Bay. Those beach chairs want people in them to watch the sunset. Our winds will be light over the next couple of days and we should see a few more clouds.

On our satellite view we can see more clouds as a very weak cold front moves into the Caribbean, but most of the moisture is well to the east of us. They are getting nice showers southeast of Cayman but that is not coming our way. Over the next two days we will see more periods of clouds, which should cool us off a couple of degrees. The airport actually got up to 90 degrees (32.2C) yesterday. If we can get a few clouds in here we should stay around 85 (29.4C). There will be a small chance of a shower somewhere, especially tomorrow morning, but the chance is only around 20 percent. We’re still watching a chance of a shower for Sunday morning, but we will be almost completely dry through the rest of the week.

Wind and wave forecast: We start out the day with mild east winds around 10 mph and seas 3 feet on the south side. Those will continue to calm. Winds this evening will be from the northeast at 7-12 mph and seas 2-3 feet and tomorrow winds will be light and variable and seas 1-2 feet, even on the southside. Thursday starts out with mild winds but will get windier from the east Thursday evening into Friday before a calmer weekend.

I had the opportunity to go to Ikigai by Robby Molina Sunday and I will be telling you a little about the wonderful experience I had there each day. Let’s start with the appetizers. Our server, Veronica, soaked a hunk of cheese in brandy and set it aflame, and let me tell you the results were out of this world. I had never heard of it, but it is now my go-to appetizer.

Don’t forget the surf and turf special for Honduran Father’s Day. Ikigai by Robby Molina is in the old Romeo’s building in French Harbour. Reservations are never required, but you can call ahead at 9343-3135.

Low tides are 12:15 p.m. and 12:15 a.m. under a quarter moon. Have a great Tuesday!