Click on the image to see the full resolution satellite image of this morning. It shows nicely the frontal system over the Western parts of Greenland.

Forecast Dye III - 10 September 2010 - day 7
 
General:
The latest satellite image shows the sinature of a significant cloudsystem over the Southern parts of Greenland. It is expected that this system will still dominate the weather conditions on the 11th and the 12th of September. Improvement will probably break through on the 13th.
In general no high winds, so no blowing snow conditions so far.
 
Day 1: 11 September 2010
Weather: very cloudy to overcast with snowfall, after 15utc slightly improving with some weak sunny spells
Wind: NW 2-4m/s, after 12/15utc becoming N 4-6m/s
Temperatures: -10/-5°C
 
Day 2: 12 September 2010
Weather: cloudy periods with still some slight snowfall. Some weak sunny spells from time to time.
Wind: N 2-3m/s, after 18utc becoming NW 2-3ms
Temperatures: -14/-8°C
 
Day 3: 13 September 2010
Weather: enlarging sunny spells, good conditions.
Wind: N to NE 1-2ms after 12utc E 2-3m/s
Temperatures: -10/-6°C
 
Day 4: 14 September 2010
Weather: sunny with increasing amount of medium and high level clouds; Bad point is the increasing temperature: it is not impossible that temperatures turn positive.
Wind: SE 2-4m/s.
Temperatures: -6/0°C

Day 5: 15 September 2010
Weather: sunny and almost clear. Warm.
Wind: SE 2-4m/s.
Temperatures: -1/+1°C

This satellite image is from the Candian Weather Office. It shows the Queen Elisabeth Islands (still in the dark) and a part of Greenland. The Western parts of Greenland are cloudfree whilst over the East the clouds of a frontal system cover the ice cap.

Forecast Dye III - 08 September 2010 - day 6

General:
The latest satellite image shows pretty clear conditions over the Western side of the ice cap. Also for the next three days the weather looks reasonably well.

Day 1: 08 September 2010
Weather: sunny, scattered cloudiness-good conditions-no significant change
Wind: SE 6-8m/s, after 12/15utc turing to SSE 4-6m/s
Temperatures: -12/-5°C

Day 2: 08 September 2010
Weather: sunny with scattered cloudiness. Increasing risk for fog formation after 15/18utc.
Wind: S 3-5m/s, after 15/18utc becoming E 2-3ms
Temperatures: -14/-8°C

Day 3: 09September 2010
Weather: sunny spells, gradually increasing cloudiness. Becoming very cloudy, possibly some slight snow after 21/24utc.
Wind: SSE 2-4ms, after 15utc becoming weak to calm.
Temperatures: -12/-7°C

Day 4: 10 September 2010
Weather: very cloudy with possibly some slight snow
Wind: calm, weak after 15/18utc becoming N 2-4m/s.
Temperatures: -8/-4°C

This image is taken by the noaa19 polar orbiting satellite at 1200utc. It is in the visible channel, that means that this is what you would see if you were up there, sitting on the satellite! Image from the Canadian weather Office.

Forecast from Dye III along the track - 06 September 2010 - day 5

General:
The latest satellite image shows a quite significant cloudsheet to the East of your current position. This is expected to move further to the East so i will not affect your weather condition. In general the weather conditions for the next few day look pretty good, except for the 8th of September when the wind is expected to increase and this may result in drifting or blowing snow. It will blow from the ESE to SE so this will be mainly a tailwind.

Day 1: 06 September 2010
Weather: after a very cloudy start with possily still some residual slight snow, weather conditions are expected to improve: enlarging sunny spells with good visibility.
Wind: SSW 3-5m/s, turning to the SSE  and slightly decreasing: 2-4ms
Temperatures: -8/-4°C

Day 2: 07 September 2010
Weather: scattered cloudiness with sunny spells, becoming clear-good visibility. No significant change.
Wind: SE 2-4m/s, after 18/21utc becming E 5-8ms
Temperatures: -14/-8°C

Day 3: 08 September 2010
Weather: sunny and clear with possibly after 21/24utc formation of low clouds or fog patches.
Wind: ESE 7-10ms, later veering to SSE 5-8ms.
Temperatures: -15/-3°C

Day 4: 09 September 2010
Weather: sunny spells with scattered clouds. After 15/18utc possibly formation of Low Stratus or fog patches.
Wind: S 4-6ms, after 15/18utc becoming calm.
Temperatures: -6°C after 15/18utc becoming -14/-16°C

Latest satellite image from noaa19. This is an Infra Red iamge showing the difference in temperatures of the different fields. Dark is warm and white is cold. We us these pictures to see the difference between high and low clouds. Low clouds are warm and appear dark, whilst high clouds are very cold and are showing up white. As you can see the team is under the high clouds of the frontal depression. Click on the image to see the full display.

Forecast Dye III to Nuuk - 04 September 2010 - day 4
Position: N65.138 W-43.82
Altitude: 2490meter

General:
On the latsest satellite image the frontal depression has shifted a little more to the East but it will still determine the weather over your location today and tomorrow.

Day 1: 04 September 2010
Weather: still very cloudy to overcast with slight to temporarily moderate snowfall. No more blowing snow, so visibility should be slightly better than previous days.
Wind: ENE 4-6m/s, turning to the North and slightly decreasing
Temperatures: -5/-6°C

Day 2: 05 September 2010
Weather: still very cloudy but gradually (slowly) improving conditions. Initially still some slight snow but that should stop and some sunny spells develop. Moderate to good visibility and also the contrast and horizon improves.
Wind: SE 4-6m/s, slightly increasing
Temperatures: -12/-4°C

Day 3: 06 September 2010
Weather: sunny spells and scattered to broken high clouds. Possibly a few fog patches around.
Wind: S 2-4ms, no significant change.
Temperatures: -10/-6°C

This satellite image is taken from the noaa19 - AVHRR radiometer early this morning. It shows the Western and Southern parts of Greenland still in the dark while daylight is present over the North and East. Nevertheless this picture shows well the extension of the frontal system that covers the Eastern parts of Greenland. This system originates from the ex-tropical cyclone Danielle. Click on the image to see the full display.

Forecast Dye III - 03 September 2010 - day 3
Position: N65.138 W-43.82
Altitude: 2490meter

Quick update
General:
The frontal system has reactivated by the warm air introduced by the Ex tropical cyclone Danielle (you would not expect this in Greenland but in the world of weather systems everything is possible); Such a system is very hard to handle by the meteorological models, so the forecast can change very quickly. What happened with the last run.
The latest satellite image of Greenland reveals the presence of that big weather system over the main parts of Greenland, and this is not likely to clear within the first 48 hours. So the expected improvement for tomorrow is slightly delayed.

Day 1: 03 September 2010
Weather: still solidly overcast with periods of moderate snowfall. Poor visibility. No contrast, no horizon. No significant change today.
Wind: NE to E 4-7m/s after 12/15utc becoming E 8-10m/s (average)
Temperatures: -5/2°C

Day 2: 04 September 2010
Weather: very cloudy to overcast with snow fall, poor conditions. Possibly a temporarily improvement after 18utc.
Wind: E to ENE 5-8m/s after 18utc SE 3-5ms.
Temperatures: -6/4°C

Day 3: 05 September 2010
Weather: very cloudy to solidly overcast with moderate snowfall. Poor conditions.Slow improvement starts after 18utc.
Wind: ESE to SE 5-8m/s becoming after 18/21utc SE 3-5ms
Temperatures: -5/-2°C

Day 4: 04 September 2010
Weather: enlarging sunny spells, improving conditions.
Wind: SW 4-6ms, becoming WNW 1-3ms.
Temperatures: -14/-80°C

Day 5: 05 September 2010
Weather: sunny spells/scattered clouds.
Wind: calm and weak
Temperatures: -20/-12°C

This is the latest Satellite image of Greenland, taken y the AVHRR radiometer on the NOAA19 satellite. It shows the greatest part of Greenland covered by the clouds of an active frontal system that has dominated the weather of the ‘Greenland Skitur-guys’. If the forecast is right than the wind should die down tonight. Click on the image to see the full display.

Read the diary of Christian Eide and his Skitur team here

Forecast Dye III - 02 September 2010 - day 2
Position: N65.138 W-43.82
Altitude: 2490meter

General:
The first two days of this forecast are still pretty poor. The strong wind of today should die down after 18utc, but also tomorrow the poor weather conditions will be prsent, at least we got rid of the blowing snow. The real improvement is expted to start sometimes after 15/18utc on the 4th of September. The 5th and 6th look reasonably well.

Day 1: 02 September 2010
Weather: very cloudy to overcast with periods of moderate snowfall. Blowing snow. Poor visibility. Blowing snow. No contrast, no horizon.
Wind: E 10-15m/s (average), gradually but continuously decreasing after 18utc.
Temperatures: -4/0°C

Day 2: 03 September 2010
Weather: still Very cloudy to overcast with periods of snow. Maybe some shortlived sunny spells. Only temporarily because general conditions remain poor.
Wind: in general a weak wind (less than 3ms) from variable directions.
Temperatures: -10/-4°C

Day 3: 04 September 2010
Weather: still very cloudy to overcast with slight snow to start, but improvement starts after 15/18utc: enlarging sunny spells.
Wind: ESE 4-6m/s, no significant change
Temperatures: -6/-14°C

Day 4: 05 September 2010
Weather: maybe some groundfog but in general sunny with some high clouds.
Wind: NW 5-7ms, after 21utc weak.
Temperatures: -14/-6°C
 
Day 5: 06 September 2010
Weather: fog patches, soon lifting: sunny and clear. Good visibility, good contrast and horizon.
Wind: S 4-6m/s, turning a little to the South
Temperatures: -20/-10°C

This is the latest sat shot from the Bering Strait area. Chaotic cloud patterns, no big wind or weather system in the vicinity. Click on the image to see the full display.

Bering Strait Crossing with Kites 27 Aug - day 22
Forecast is valid for the daylight hours: between 12utc and 04utc
Start=Wales Middle=Diomedes End=Russia

Day 1: 27 Aug
Wind:
Start: 110-130°8-12kt after 15utc becoming 170-190°8-12kt
Middle: 100-10°8-13kt after 15utc becoming 160-180°8-12kt
End: 090-110°5-10kt after 18utc becoming 160-180°5-10kt
Weather: very cloudy, with sunny spells, later very coudy to overcast with some rain or showery outbreaks

Day 2: 28 Aug
Wind:
Start: 200-220°5-10kt no significant change
Middle: 190-210°4-8kt no significant change
End: less than 5kt no significant change
Weather: sunny with scattered clouds, no precipitation.

Day 3: 29 Aug
Wind:
Start: less than 5kt after 18 utc becoming 340-360°8-12kt
Middle: less than 5kt after 15utc becoming 350-010°5-10kt
End: 340-360°5-10kt, no significant change
Weather: very cloudy to overcast with showery outbreaks

Latest weather report from Wales Airport
0800utc - 27 august
wind: calm
vsibility: 10 miles
sky: overcast
weather: nil
Temperature: XXXXX
Relative Humidity: XXX

Conclusion
Unfortunately, also during this period no window is eminent. The wind remains to weak during the whole period. The second day the wind drops away and turns to the Northerly sector the next day. But still the speed is not quite enough.
Hope for some better news tomorrow.

Noaa 18 satellite image of the Bering Sea/Chukchi Sea area. This satellite shot shows us the active frontal system that extends over the Bering Sea via the Bering Strait towards the Chukchi Sea. This system embeds several wavetops. Those wavetops are area of moderate to heavy precipitation. Click on the image to see the image fully displayed.

Bering Strait Crossing with Kites 25 Aug - day 20
Forecast is valid for the daylight hours: between 12utc and 04utc
Start=Wales Middle=Diomedes End=Russia

Day 1: 25 Aug
Wind:
Start: 170-190°18-23kt after 21utc becoming 150-170°13-18kt
Middle: 180-200°20-25kt after 21utc becoming 150-170°13-18kt
End: 170-190°20-25kt after 21utc becoming 150-170°12-17kt
Weather: very cloudy to overcast with periods of light rain

Day 2: 26 Aug
Wind:
Start: 130-150°12-17kt after 21utc becoming 140-160°8-12kt
Middle: 130-150°14-19kt after 21utc becoming 140-160°12-16kt
End: 130-150°12-17kt after 21utc becoming 150-170°8-13kt
Weather: very cloudy to overcast with periods of rain/showery outbreaks and in between some shorlived sunny spells.

Day 3: 27 Aug
Wind:
Start: 120-140°8-13kt after 12utc becoming 130-150°13-18kt
Middle: 100-120°8-13kt after 12utc becoming 140-160°13-18kt
End: 080-100°8-12kt, no signicant change
Weather: very cloudy to overcast with periods of moderate rainfall

Latest weather report from Wales Airport
1100utc - 25 august
wind: 180°25g31kt
vsibility: 8 miles
sky: overcast
weather: light rain
Temperature: XXXXX
Relative Humidity: XXX

Conclusion
The next three days the weather looks very unsettled: squall or other perturbation lines come across and will introduce some very wet weather. At the same time every day shows a moderate wind, probably strong enough to kite. It is a balance between the conditions associated to the perturbations, poor visibility-rain, and the moderate wind conditions. Today pretty strong, slightly decreasing after 21utc. But certainly enough to do an attempt, if the weather is not too bad.
Tomorrow slightly less wind but still possible. If you try, go as soon as possible because after 21utc teh wind tends to drop at the Russian side.
The day after tomorrow the wind increases during the day, coming into kiting limits soon after 12/15utc. Altough moderate rain could trigger poor visibility conditions.

God speed!

This map shows the situation valid for Tuesday at 1800utc. There is a Southerly current over the Bering Sea, resulting in a moderate to strong Southerly wind across the Bering Strait. Click on the image to see the full display.

Bering Strait Crossing with Kites 21 Aug - day 16
Forecast is valid for the daylight hours: between 12utc and 04utc
Start=Wales Middle=Diomedes End=Russia

Day 1: 23 Aug
Wind:
Start: 180-200°5-10kt after 18utc becoming 180-200°10-15kt
Middle: 180-200°8-12kt after 18utc becoming 180-200°10-15kt
End: 190-210°6-10kt after 18utc becoming 170-190°8-13kt
Weather: very cloudy, later sunny spells, no precipitation.

Day 2: 24 Aug
Wind:
Start: 190-210°12-17kt after 18/21utc becoming 170-190°12-16kt
Middle: 190-210°11-16kt after 21utc becoming 180-200°13-18kt
End: 200-220°6-10kt after 18/21utc becoming 180-200°13-18kt
Weather: sunny, scattered clouds, after 18/21utc gradually increasing and thickening cloud. First precipitation expected after 03/06utc on 25th.

Day 3: 25 Aug
Wind:
Start: 150-170°12-17kt after 18/21utc becoming 150-170°10-15kt
Middle: 160-180°13-18kt after 21utc 150-170°10-15kt
End: 160-180°11-16kt after 21utc becoming 140-160°8-13kt
Weather: overcast with periods of rain (warmfront), (slightly) improving after 21/24utc.

Latest weather report from Wales Airport
0900utc - 23 august
wind: 290°05kt
vsibility: 10 miles
sky: overcast
weather: nil
Temperature: 26°C/78°F!!!
Relative Humidity: 88%

Conclusion
Today the wind is expected to blow from the Southerly corner. It will increase but I am afraid it will remain just below the needed windspeed. Especially at the end point in Russia the wind seems to hesitate to increase. That will probably be the main problem today.
From my opinion tomorrow Tuesday looks the best day of the week. The plan i suggest goes as follows: You start between 15-18utc at Wales, the wind there at that time will be around 14-15kt average. So you’ll be at Diomedes between 18 and 21utc: by than the wind at that location should have become around 15kt as well. You arrive in Russia between 24 and 03utc, by than the wind has increased to 15kt average as well.
Wednesday again looks possible if the rain is not too heavy/visibility. But than you need to start as early as possible as the wind tends to decrease after 18/21utc.

God speed!

Bering Strait Crossing with Kites 21 Aug - day 16
Forecast is valid for the daylight hours: between 12utc and 04utc
Start=Wales Middle=Diomedes End=Russia

Day 1: 22 Aug
Wind:
Start: 310-330°4-8kt after 21utc becoming 250-270°4-8kt
Middle: 310-330°4-8kt after 21utc becoming 230-250°4-8kt
End: 300-320°3-7kt after 18utc becoming less than 4kt
Weather: sunny spells, scattered clouds.

Day 2: 23 Aug
Wind:
Start: 190-210°8-12kt after 18utc becoming 190-210°12-16kt
Middle: 190-210°8-12kt after 18utc becoming 200-220°12-16kt
End: 190-210°6-10kt after 18utc becoming 190-210°10-15kt
Weather: sunny, scattered clouds

Day 3: 24 Aug
Wind:
Start: 190-210°12-16kt no significant change
Middle: 200-220°13-18ktno significant change
End: 200-220°8-12kt after 18utc becoming 180-200°12-16kt
Weather: sunny spells but gradually increasing and thickening cloudiness, no precip.

Latest weather report from Wales Airport
0600utc - 22 august
wind: 020°04kt
vsibility: 10 miles
sky: overcast
weather: nil
Temperature: 22°C/72°F
Relative Humidity: 90%

Conclusion
As expected yesterday today the wind will be far too weak to get the kites out. Overnight it will drop completely and turn to the Southerly sector. Than it becomes interesting. I would say that we keep both Monday and Tuesday as an option to start the crossing. On Monday it starts rather weak but is should increase. Probably it will become into limits after 15/18utc, so depending if enough time is left you could start on Monday.
But also Tuesday is an option. At this stage the wind on Tuesday is pretty steady during all day and over the whole stretch. The speed could be better but i think this offers some possibilities.

God speed!