This map shows the synoptic situation valid for tomorrow 1200utc. The main player is the deepening depression that crosses the Davis Strait. This is generating gale force winds over the greatest parts of the area. Also the Northern passage will have some rough time, tackling this depression. Once the center of the depression has moves far enough to the East the wind will turn to the N to NW and this will boost their SE’ly progression. Click on the image to see the full display.

Weather Forecast North East West passage -27 Spt- day 76

General situation
Today you move to the other side of the high pressure ridge axis which results in an increasing E to SE’ly wind. At this point the Hudson bay depression start crossing the Davis Strait which will generate high winds in this area. Escaping from these strong winds is not possible. Tuesday will be the worst day.
Latest model run confirms yesterday’s strategy.

Tuesday will be a very rough day, average windspeeds can go up to 24 to 28kt. By early Wednesday the wind will have turned to N/NNW and will blow with an average speed of 20kt. This should give you a boost in SE’ly direction.

Day 1: 27 Sept:
Weather: gradually increasing/thickening cloudiness, followed by moderate to heavy rain after 21/24utc.
Wind: 100-120°10-15kt after 9/12utc becoming 9/12utc 110-130°15-20kt after 15/18utc becoming 110-130°22-27kt

Day 2: 28 Sept:
Weather: mostly very cloudy to overcast with periods of moderate/heavy rain.
Wind: 110-130°20-25kt, after 12utc becoming 080-100°25-30kt after 18uc becoming 040-060°20-25kt

Day 3: 29 Sept:
Weather: gradually improving conditions, enlarging sunn spells
Wind: after 03utc becoming 350-010°18-23kt, after 12utc becoming 330-350°15-20kt

On top an IR satellite image of Baffin Island and Greenland. Bottom right you can see the curly signature of Igor, ex tropical cyclone. On the synoptic map you can see Igor as well, still generating high windspeeds over the NorthWest Atlantic. Over the Hudson Bay there is the building mobile high pressure ridge that will cause some weak conditions along the Western side of Baffin Bay. Click on the images to see them in full display.

Weather Forecast North East West passage -25 Spt- day 74

General situation
During the weekend that old tropical storm Igor is moving away towards Europe. In its wake a mobile ridge of high pressure develops which generates pretty slack wind conditions along the course of the Northern Passage (during the weeken).
This mobile ridge is only a temporarily phenomenon as a new depression is deepening over the Hudson Bay and this feature moves via the Southern tip of Baffin Island towards the Souhern tip of Greenland. This is pretty unfavourable for the Northern passage because at that time they are on the Northern flank of that depression with an East to SouthEasterly wind. But as that low moves further way, the wind will veer to the N/NW again and that will give an extra boost from wednesday onwards.
As indicated on the routage file, you can avoid the ‘calm and headwind’spell by tacking Eastward. At a certain point you’ll have some headwind, but that route should put you in the right position to pick a the N to NW winds on early Wednesday.

Day 1: 25 Sept:
Latest position: 72/-72
Wind: 310-330°5-10kt gradually becoming 320-340°4-8kt

Day 2: 26 Sept:
Estimated position: 71/-67
Wind: 310-330°4-6kt, temporarily becoming weak to calm, after 18uc becoming 110-130°5-10kt, gradually increasing

Day 3: 27 Sept:
Estimated position: 69/-64
Wind: 110-130°12-16kt, gradually becoming 090-110°15-20kt

Synoptic situation valid for 1800utc today. This map shows the remnants of hurricane, tropical storm, Igor who’s making hell in the Davis Strait. Sever gale warnings over there and the Southern parts of Baffin Island but the tentacles of Igor don’t reach as far as Beylot Island. However it is always good to keep an eye on those kind of weather systems because they proved to be pretty inpredictable before. Click on the image to see the full display. 

Weather Forecast North East West passage -23 Spt- day 72
General situation
The last stretch before entering the Navy Board Inlet is still dominated by an Easterly wind but that should but be significantly less than yesterday. I hope the conditions along the Northern side of Lancaster Sound were a little bit better than along the Southern side. I was reading reports from earlier expeditions in the Lancaster sound and they mentioned that along the Southern side the current is quite strong from the East, whilst along the Northern side there is a weak Westerly current. I hope you experienced this too and made it a bit easier.
So i reckon you arrive tomorrow at Pond inlet. Once you are in the Navy board inlet conditions should become much more comfortable as the wind backs to the N to NE which will favour your progression into the Navy Board Inlet.
This forecast described the conditions during the last part in the Lancaster Sound, the Navy Board inlet and arriving at Pond inlet. In a general word i would recommend not to stay too long in PI, because it looks like the days beyond Friday there is a nice NW’ly blowing along the Eastern coast of Baffin Island. Let me know about the plans and than i get into more detail for Saturday and Sunday.
Day 1: 23 Sept:
Expected track: waypoints 73.9/-82.5 to 72.8/-80.9 (last bit of Lancaster Sound and first part of the Navy Board Inlet)
Weather: very cloudy to overcast with low clouds, possibly some slight precip. There are breaks in the cloud cover above Navy Board inlet and the Eclipse sound
Wind: 070-090°8-12kt, after 12/15utc when entering the NBI becoming 040-060°6-10kt, after 21utc further backing to 360-020°6-10kt

Day 2: 24 Sept:
Expected track: 72.8/-80.2 to 72.7/-77.5 (last part of Navy Board Inlet-Eclipse Sound and arriving at Pond Inlet)
Weather: still very cloudy but there could be some sunny spells developing.
Wind: 360-020°5-10kt, in the Eclipse Sound becoming 020-040°5-10kt, later 040-060°

This satellite image shows three tropical storms: in the Gulf of Mexico there is Karl, in the middle of the Atlantic that is Igor and near Cape Verde Islands we can see Julia. It is Igor that is expected to head for Baffin Island and the Davis Strait area, but as the models are suggesting right now, the influence of this killer should be very little for the Northern passage. (image from Goes East-geostationary satellite) Click on the image to see the full display. 

Weather Forecast North East West passage -22 Spt- day 71

This forecast was sent to Borge and Thorleif today around 8.30utc
General situation
74°N is probably the worst part of the Lancaster Sound to be, as along this parallel has the highest windspeeds. Going further North should give you less wind, however the headwind remains present the whole day. Continuing along coast will be hard at first, but once at the NE point of Brodeur Peninsula you can tack a little Southwards, that will give you less wind as well.
Day 1: 22 Sept:
Expected track: waypoints 74/-87 to 73.8/-82 (Lancaster Sound towards Bylot Island)
Weather: very cloudy, possibly some slight precip.
Wind: 070-090°18-24kt, no significant change (maybe slightly decreasing)
Alternative:
1. go further north: wind decreases the further north you go: North of 74.200/300, 5-10kt less.
2. continue close to coast of Brodeur Peninsula, reaching Sturley Point, than tack a little Southwards and continue towards NWpoint of Borden Peninsula. This should give you 4-8kt less wind, a little more from the NE.

Day 2: 23 Sept:
Expected track: 73.8/-83 to 73.2/-80.5 (last stretch of the Lancaster Sound, entering Navy Board Inlet)
Weather: becoming very cloudy to overcast with possibly some showery outbreaks.
Wind: 060-080°12-18kt after 09/12utc becoming 050-070°8-13kt after 18/21utc (Navy board inlet): 020-040°8-13kt

Day 3: 24 Sept:
Expected track: 73.2/-80.5 to 72.7/-78 (Navy Board Inlet to Eclipse Sound, arriving at Pond Inlet.
Weather: overcast with possibly some showery outbreaks..
Wind: 010-030°8-12kt after 9utc becoming 050-070°4-8kt, after 18utc less than 5kt

This map shows the wind conditions approximately at the time the Northern Passage attempts the crossing of the Bellot Strait. The overals wind conditions in the Strait should be from a NW’ly direction and rather weak.

Weather Forecast North East West passage -20 Spt- day 69
General situation
The Hudson Bay depression is gradually moving away to the South, whilst the Beaufort Sea High is pushing from the West. This generates a rather weak NW’ly wind over the Franklin and Bellot Strait area. This kind of wind should be pretty good to attempt the Bellot Strait crossing, today.
For the remainder of this period no big weather events are programmed for the next two/three days. Take in account that when you arrive in the Prince Regent Inlet the wind will gradually veer from NW, via N to NE. This will make it hard to sail in a NE’ly direction, so i would recommend, once you are in the PRI you’ll keep going East (with the NW to N’ly wind) and once the wind has veered to the the NE to ENE, start tacking NorthEastwards.
If you are on this schedule you’ll be in the Lancaster Sound on the 23th of September, at that moment you’ll have a decreasing headwind over there.

Day 1: 20 Sept:
Expected track: waypoints 71.8/-95.7 via 72/-95.2 to 72/-94 (Towards and across the Bellot Strait)
Weather: very cloudy with weak sunny spells, cooler.
Wind: 320-340°3-8kt, after 15/18utc gradually becoming 300-320°2-6kt.

Day 2: 21 Sept:
Expected track: waypoints 72/-94 (via 72.4/-90.5) to 72.8/-90.5 (Prince Regent Inlet straight East and than North)
Weather: weak sunny spells, temporarily overcast with probably a showery outbreak.
Wind: 320-340°3-8kt, after 12/15utc gradually becoming 020-040°5-10kt, later 040-060°7-12kt

Day 3: 22 Sept:
Expected track: waypoints 72.8/-90.5 to 73.8/-88 (Prince Regent Inlet, towwards entrance to the Lancaster Sound)
Weather: very cloudy, possibly some weak sunny spells.
Wind: 040-060°8-12kt after 12/15utc becoming 060-080°10-15kt

Day 4: 23 Sept:
Expected track: waypoints: 73.8/-88 to 73.8/-83.3 (Lancaster Sound)
Weather: sunny spells, scattered cloudiness
Wind: 070-090°10-15kt after 15utc becoming 060-080°less than 6kt, after 24utc becoming calm.

This IR satellite image shows well the typical signature of a deep depression. This violent feature is positioned over Hudson Bay and sucks cold air from the Arctic over the NW Territories and will probably generate a cold dip in the Northern States.

Weather Forecast North East West passage -18 Spt- day 67
General situation
The deep, powerful depression in the Hudson Bay is still sucking cold Arctic air coming from the Parry and Queen Elizabeth Islands into the NW Territories. This generates a Northerly wind over your area, at least for the next 36 to 48 hours. Than the building high pressure from the Beafort Sea takes over which results in a quite significant drop of the wind: calm or less than 5kt on Monday.

Day 1: 18 Sept:
Weather: scattered to broken cloud, sunny spells.
Wind: 340-360°8-13kt after 15utc becoming 340-360°12-17kt.

Day 2: 19 Sept:
Weather: stable weather: sunny spells, scattered to broken clouds.
Wind: 340-360°13-18kt, after 15/18utc gradually becoming 340-360°8-13kt.

Day 3: 20 Sept:
Weather: fair, sunny spells, scattered cloudy periods.
Wind: 340-360°6-10kt, after 15/18utc gradually becoming weak to calm

Day 4: 21 Sept:
Weather: sunny spells, scattered clouds-fair.
Wind: calm or less than 5kt from variable directions. After 00/03utc (22 Sep) becoming 090-110°8-13kt.

This satellite image is taken by the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer on the Polar orbiting satellite Noaa 19. The northern parts of greenland comes out very brightly whilst the Northern passage is just at the back of a cold front.

Weather Forecast North East West passage -16 Spt- day 65
The storm depression is further moving away towards the Hudson Bay, which leaves us with an Easterly wind. In the meantime the high pressure is building from the Beaufort Sea and along the Eastern side of this feature a moderate, Northerly wind will blows, starting from tomorrow after 18utc.

Day 1: 17 Sept:
Expected track: 69/-105 to 69/-101
Weather: sunny  spells, increasing cloudiness. No precipitation.
Wind: 090-110°7-12kt aftr 12utc becoming 020-040°8-13kt, further turning to the North after 18/21utc.

Day 2: 18 Sept:
Expected track: 69/-101 to 70/-98
Weather: sunny spells, cloudy periods. Fair.
Wind: 350-010°10-15kt, slightly increasing to 13-18kt.

Day 3: 19 Sept:
Expected track: 70/-98 to 71.2-96.5
Weather: sunny spells, cloudy periods. Fair.
Wind: 350-010°13-18kt, slowly decreasing to become 310-330°8-13kt

On top: today’s satellite image of the Arctic. You can see the North Pole, a part of Greenland and the Queen Elizabeth Islands. The Northern passage is currently in the Coronation Channel, just to the west of the storm depression that shows up very clearly at the bottem of the satellite image.

The synoptic map shows the situation valid for tonight 18utc: the center of the closed depression is at this time close to Cambridge Bay. This means that the Northern Passage is still experiencing the strongest windfield from a NW’ly direction. Clik on the image to see the full display.

Weather Forecast North East West passage -15 Spt- day 64
The main feature on the synoptic weather maps is still the closed depression of which the center is just to the East of your position. This means that the strongest NW’ly windfield is still dominating the conditions along your track. Tonight (after 15/18utc) the wind will again increase and will probably reach near gale or gale force. After 24utc the wind will start to decrease as the center of the depression is further moving away. Than the last stretch to Cambridge Bay the building high pressure will flatten out the pressure gradient so the wind will further ease and becomes very weak.
Day 1: 15 Sept:
Expected track: 68.8/-114 to 68.5/-109
Weather: overcast with moderate to heavy snowfall, poor visibility.
Wind: 330-350°18-23kt, between 15 and 03utc temporarily increasing up to 24 to 28kt average, gusting up to 40kt. After 03utc becoming 020-040°15-20kt.

Day 2: 16 Sept:
Expected track: 68.5/-109 to 69/-105 (Cambridge Bay)
Weather: slowly improving, still some slight snow, and weak sunny spells develop.
Wind: 040-060°10-15kt, after 18/21utc becoming 060-080°3-8kt and after 24/03utc becoming 310-330°25-30kt gusting up to 45kt.

Day 3: 17 Sept:
Expected track: at Cambridge Bay
Weather: very cloudy with a few weak sunny spells.
Wind: less than 5kt from the Northerly sector. No significant change.

Day 4: 18 Sept:
Expected track: at Cambridge Bay
Weather: further enlarging sunny spells
Wind: still from Northerly direction, increasing a little: 5-10kt.

Today the crew of the Northern Passage will cross the strongest windfield of the depression that comes across the Queen Elizabeth Islands. This synoptic situation is valid at 15utc today and shows the depression with a split center: one center over Kent Peninsula and the other one over Bothia Peninsula. In between you’ll find Cambridge Bay in weak wind conditions. This situation implies the advection of colder Arctic air over the area of interest. So we can expect that the guys will have to deal with average winds of about 30kt during which gusts can easily go up to 40-45kt. It is a tail wind, nevertheless this will be a rough spell. A second gale warning is issued for Wednesdaynight (utc timeframe). Click on the image to see the full display.

Weather Forecast North East West passage -14 Spt- day 63
Southern Route South of Victoria Island towards Cambridge Bay
The first 48 to 60 hours on average pretty strong winds at the back side of the deepening depression. It passes along your Eastern side so during this period you’ll have constantly NW to N’ly winds. I give you a warning for two spells of very strong, gale winds. The first one should happen today between 12 and 18utc and the second one during the (utc) night of the 15th on the 16th. Details see below.
Day 1: 14 Sept:
Expected track: 70/-119 to 69/-115
Weather: very cloudy to overcast with periods of rain and sleet becoming sleet and snow. Cooler.
Wind: 330-350°20-25kt, between 12 and 18utc increasing up to 30kt average, gusting up to 40-45kt! After 18utc again becoming 340-360°20-25kt.

Day 2: 15 Sept:
Expected track: 69/-115 to 68.4/-112
Weather: few sunny spells and a few showery (snow) outbreaks. Colder.
Wind: 340-360°15-20kt, after 18utc 310-330°20-25kt and after 24/03utc becoming 310-330°25-30kt gusting up to 45kt.

Day 3: 16 Sept:
Expected track: 68.4/-112 to 68.8/-107
Weather: overcast with sleet and snow.
Wind: 310-330°25-30kt, after 12utc becoming 030-050°12-18kt. Gradually further turning to the East and decreasing.

Day 4: 17 Sept:
Expected track: towards Cambridge Bay
Weather: furhter improving
Wind: weak, calm. After 6/9utc becomping 020-040°3-8kt, after 18utc 360-020°5-10kt

This sequence shows the track of the depression that will generate high winds over the Queen Eizabeth Islands. Between every image there is a timestep of 24 hours, starting with today at 12utc when the depression center is positioned over the McClure Strait with high winds over the Amundsen Strait. 24 hours later the center of the low is than over the McClintock Channel, generating near gale winds over the Viscount Melville Soud and high winds over the Prince of Wales Strait. At this stage also high NW’ly winds over the Coronation Gulf towards Cambridge Bay.

During the next 24 hours the depression tracks further to the Southeast with high pressure building over the East of the Beaufort Sea. This eases the conditions over the McClure Strait and South of Banks Islands. On the 16th the center of the depression has entered the Canadian mainland, with still pretty high winds towards Cambridge Bay.