Hi everyone, today we have something a bit different from the normal baseball forecasts. This weekend is the NCAA rowing championships at Mercer Lake in West Windsor, NJ. As a member of the Rutgers Women’s Rowing team this is the most important race of the year as it is our final races and stacks us up against the best in the country. I am so excited to see what all the teams bring this year and let’s see what the weather has in store for us!
Friday’s Heats
Friday’s heats kick off at 8:12am EDT. The first session of racing in the morning will see mostly cloudy skies with temperatures in mid-60s and warming up into the high-60s by noon. Humidity will be around 85% which will give the air a very moist and sticky feeling. On the water the humidity won’t feel as bad but it will still feel warmer than people expect. There might be a few passing showers before 8am so for teams warming up be prepared for that. There is also a chance for some drizzle through the morning which may make everything just damp.
Wind is a major factor in rowing and Mercer Lake has its fair share of windy days. Racing will be going from the northwest and rowing down towards the southeast. This means winds coming from the northwest would result in a tailwind and winds coming from the southeast would result in a headwind. Mercer Lake in particular is a man made lake and it is often the case that the winds are strongest during the first 750 meters of the race and will often mess up points at the start line. During our race times on Friday, we will be looking at winds coming from the southwest, meaning a slight cross-tail around 5 mph. That will remain throughout the morning session. Gusts will go from 10-15 mph which may not seem like much, but when rowing it can cause some choppy conditions. It’s worth being mindful of especially for rowers and coxswains. For spectators it should feel like a nice break from the humidity.
Saturday’s Semis
Saturday’s semi final races will begin at 8:12am EDT. There will be some showers in the area at the start from the overnight storms. This will likely not result in a delay but just be uncomfortable conditions for rowers and spectators alike. Rowing in the rain leads to harder conditions for coxswains to see and for rowers to keep a good grip on their handles. However the rain is only expected to last until 9am which will allow for some sun to peak through the clouds for the rest of the session. Temperatures will be around 60 degrees at 8am but start to warmup and reach 70 degrees by the end of the session at noon. Humidity will start at about 92% at 8am but start to dry up to only 70% by 12pm. This will still leave a sticky and moist feeling but will feel better as the day continues.
The winds on Saturday will be higher than Friday with sustained winds of about 15 mph. These winds will be coming from the northwest which will be a tailwind for our rowers. Despite the tailwind, it can be still hard conditions to row in with such strong winds. Gusts will be from 25-30 mph which will be very hard for rowers since the water will likely be wavy. For spectators, it might not be the best day to put up anything that can blow away such as unattended chairs and umbrellas. Close to the water the winds can be stronger so just keep that in mind for Saturday.
Sunday’s Finals
Sunday’s finals start at 8:12am EDT. Temperatures will be in the mid-60s with sunny skies. Humidity will be around 60% which will feel even less out on the water. However, sunny skies don’t always mean the best weather, as the winds will be similar to Saturday. We are looking at sustained wind speeds of around 15 mph during the racing session. Winds will be coming from the west which will give the rowers a mostly tail wind but a slight cross coming from their starboard side of the boat. Gusts will be around 20-30 mph during the session. With these wind speeds we might see some fast times this weekend if the wind stays more in the tail direction. Our likely day for the fastest times is Saturday with the faster and more direct tail wind. However, sometimes super strong tails will slow rowers down as it does affect the water conditions and blade work. It is all to be seen this weekend as we look for this year’s national championship winner. Good luck to all those rowing this weekend, especially my girls from Rutgers, and I hope to see some great rowing out on Mercer Lake!
