Experience: Watch for cold fronts

by Robert Wagner, SAIL magazine
It was the week before Memorial Day and the weather forecast looked perfect for a three-day sail in Valhalla, my 1977 Cape Dory 30 K, on Lake Erie from Lorain, Ohio, to the Lake Erie Islands and back. There was just one possible hitch—a predicted backdoor cold front.

By its very name, the backdoor cold front should have given me pause, since something coming in through the backdoor can be associated with not being quite on the up and up. In weather terms, it refers to “a cold front moving south or southwest along the Atlantic seaboard and Great Lakes,” according to the National Weather Service glossary. “These are especially common during the spring months.”

Because they arrive from the east, opposite of typical cold fronts, they’re coming in through the “back door,” hence the name. And, they typically drive cooler Atlantic air across the warmer landmass, a recipe for potential volatility. – Full report