Make sure to check out Liquidplayground when you get a chance, Jeff has a ton of even better photos posted up over there.
http://liquidplayground.blogspot.com/
Saturday, November 7, 2009
Surf Photos – October love in the City of Angels
Hey gang…here are a few photos from Jeff at the Liquidplayground blog that he was super cool to send over. I think that the last one at the bottom of the post is my favorite…you can almost feel Fall when you look at it.
Make sure to check out Liquidplayground when you get a chance, Jeff has a ton of even better photos posted up over there.
http://liquidplayground.blogspot.com/
Make sure to check out Liquidplayground when you get a chance, Jeff has a ton of even better photos posted up over there.
http://liquidplayground.blogspot.com/
Friday, November 6, 2009
Waves for the Weekend – New NW swell peaks Sunday (and mixes with a touch of SW too
Both Saturday and Sunday look like surf days this weekend…but Sunday looks a little better as new NW swell peaks and winds are a bit more favorable.
On Saturday we are going to start off with some NW swell (290-300) and SW swell (200-220) already in the water (they started filling in more Friday afternoon). The larger push of NW swell (285-300 but with the prime energy around 295-300+) will begin filling in long-period energy throughout the day, particularly through Santa Barbara and Ventura areas thanks to their more northerly positions.
Wave on Saturday will start off in the knee-waist high range for most of the average WNW-NW and SW facing breaks…the average combo spots will be a little bit bigger at times. The standout spots (NW, SW, and combo) will be more in the waist-chest high range with some shoulder high sets mixing in before the tide gets too high. Look for overall shape and rideability to slow down as the tide peaks but expect size and shape to return pretty fast as the tide drains and more energy fills in.
Sunday the NW swell (285-300 with the sweet spot in the 290-300 range) will peak as it mixes with some holding/peaking SW swell (200-220). We will see some decent energy from the NW’er but due to the steeper swell direction it will definitely have some shadowed areas, which if you are looking for bigger waves, you should avoid. Basically the swell is going to only hit “great” at the better NW facing spots…the other less exposed/shadowed areas are going to be smaller, in some cases much smaller. Pay close attention to the CDIP chart…I know it doesn’t have the best resolution but you can still see how the swell is expected to wrap into Socal…and the shadows that both Point Conception and the Nearshore Islands cast along the coast.
Surf on Sunday is going to vary quite a bit spot to spot…but overall we can expect the average exposed breaks to build into the chest-shoulder high range, with a few shoulder high+ sets mixing in at times. The Top NW facing breaks like those in Ventura, the South Bay, and San Diego, will see consistent shoulder-head high+ surf with sets going overhead+ at times…maybe even a couple of feet+ overhead on the peaks if the spot can pick up some of the SW energy as well.
Winds look ok…sort of squirrelly on Saturday and then cleaner on Sunday.
Saturday will have some NW-NNW winds moving through the outer waters that is threatening to spin up a semi-eddy. Santa Barbara down through LA look pretty clean, but OC and SD may see some variable onshore wind in the morning…not enough to blow it out, but potentially chunking it up in some areas. Afternoon winds build out of the NW in the 10-15 knot range.
Saturday Morning Winds
Sunday winds will be light and variable to light offshore for the morning…mostly clean conditions and only bit of overcast skies at times. Look for variable onshore texture by midday and then building W-WSW winds around 10-14 knots by the afternoon.
Sunday Morning Winds
Like I said…it looks fun this weekend…maybe a little funky on Saturday at times but better than the flatness of the last few days. If I had to pick one day to surf…Sunday would be the call…the new NW’er peaks, the SW swell is helping to combo up in the background and both the winds are lighter and the high tide hits a little later in the day freeing the dawn patrol from the Swampthing. Remember not to expect this swell to show all that well in every area…I do think that we will have rideable waves in most places…but you are definitely going to want to watch your swell windows if you are looking for the bigger, most consistent surf.
Here are the tides…have a great weekend
Saturday
01:19AM LST 3.4 H
05:00AM LST 2.9 L
11:20AM LST 5.6 H
07:24PM LST -0.2 L
Sunday – The most awesome day ever…anyone born on this day is obviously special
02:42AM LST 3.6 H
06:41AM LST 3.1 L
12:36PM LST 5.0 H
08:32PM LST 0.1 L
Remember that I have more detailed regional forecast stuff in the local forecasts…check them out.
Santa Barbara - http://socalforecastsb.blogspot.com/
Ventura - http://socalforecastven.blogspot.com/
Los Angeles - http://socalforecastla.blogspot.com/
Orange County - http://socalforecastoc.blogspot.com/
San Diego - http://socalforecastsd.blogspot.com/
On Saturday we are going to start off with some NW swell (290-300) and SW swell (200-220) already in the water (they started filling in more Friday afternoon). The larger push of NW swell (285-300 but with the prime energy around 295-300+) will begin filling in long-period energy throughout the day, particularly through Santa Barbara and Ventura areas thanks to their more northerly positions.
Wave on Saturday will start off in the knee-waist high range for most of the average WNW-NW and SW facing breaks…the average combo spots will be a little bit bigger at times. The standout spots (NW, SW, and combo) will be more in the waist-chest high range with some shoulder high sets mixing in before the tide gets too high. Look for overall shape and rideability to slow down as the tide peaks but expect size and shape to return pretty fast as the tide drains and more energy fills in.
Sunday the NW swell (285-300 with the sweet spot in the 290-300 range) will peak as it mixes with some holding/peaking SW swell (200-220). We will see some decent energy from the NW’er but due to the steeper swell direction it will definitely have some shadowed areas, which if you are looking for bigger waves, you should avoid. Basically the swell is going to only hit “great” at the better NW facing spots…the other less exposed/shadowed areas are going to be smaller, in some cases much smaller. Pay close attention to the CDIP chart…I know it doesn’t have the best resolution but you can still see how the swell is expected to wrap into Socal…and the shadows that both Point Conception and the Nearshore Islands cast along the coast.
Surf on Sunday is going to vary quite a bit spot to spot…but overall we can expect the average exposed breaks to build into the chest-shoulder high range, with a few shoulder high+ sets mixing in at times. The Top NW facing breaks like those in Ventura, the South Bay, and San Diego, will see consistent shoulder-head high+ surf with sets going overhead+ at times…maybe even a couple of feet+ overhead on the peaks if the spot can pick up some of the SW energy as well.
Winds look ok…sort of squirrelly on Saturday and then cleaner on Sunday.
Saturday will have some NW-NNW winds moving through the outer waters that is threatening to spin up a semi-eddy. Santa Barbara down through LA look pretty clean, but OC and SD may see some variable onshore wind in the morning…not enough to blow it out, but potentially chunking it up in some areas. Afternoon winds build out of the NW in the 10-15 knot range.
Saturday Morning Winds
Sunday winds will be light and variable to light offshore for the morning…mostly clean conditions and only bit of overcast skies at times. Look for variable onshore texture by midday and then building W-WSW winds around 10-14 knots by the afternoon.
Sunday Morning Winds
Like I said…it looks fun this weekend…maybe a little funky on Saturday at times but better than the flatness of the last few days. If I had to pick one day to surf…Sunday would be the call…the new NW’er peaks, the SW swell is helping to combo up in the background and both the winds are lighter and the high tide hits a little later in the day freeing the dawn patrol from the Swampthing. Remember not to expect this swell to show all that well in every area…I do think that we will have rideable waves in most places…but you are definitely going to want to watch your swell windows if you are looking for the bigger, most consistent surf.
Here are the tides…have a great weekend
Saturday
01:19AM LST 3.4 H
05:00AM LST 2.9 L
11:20AM LST 5.6 H
07:24PM LST -0.2 L
Sunday – The most awesome day ever…anyone born on this day is obviously special
02:42AM LST 3.6 H
06:41AM LST 3.1 L
12:36PM LST 5.0 H
08:32PM LST 0.1 L
Remember that I have more detailed regional forecast stuff in the local forecasts…check them out.
Santa Barbara - http://socalforecastsb.blogspot.com/
Ventura - http://socalforecastven.blogspot.com/
Los Angeles - http://socalforecastla.blogspot.com/
Orange County - http://socalforecastoc.blogspot.com/
San Diego - http://socalforecastsd.blogspot.com/
Transworld Surf Forecast – Fear the Giant Red Blob
Hey gang my latest TransworldSURF Forecast is up on their website. It has a lot of my sweet drawings (they are so awesome that I will probably have an art-gallery showing soon), a bunch of nonsense that I wrote down, and some more details on the NW’er that is going to hit this weekend.
Check it out when you get a chance…no rush…just do it right now. (sorry I am frisky today for some reason). Seriously do it now.
http://surf.transworld.net/features/west-coast-weekend-surf-forecast-3/
Check it out when you get a chance…no rush…just do it right now. (sorry I am frisky today for some reason). Seriously do it now.
http://surf.transworld.net/features/west-coast-weekend-surf-forecast-3/
Thursday, November 5, 2009
Surf for Friday – Slowly building
Friday looks more rideable than it has been compared to the last couple of days…but it is still a ways away from what I would call a surf day.
We are going to start off with leftover NW/SW energy showing at most spots in the morning…but a new medium-short period NW swell (290-300) will start to filter into exposed breaks as we move through the day.
Look for most of the average WNW-NW facing breaks to start off around knee high with some waist high sets mixing in. Top NW facing spots, mostly up around Ventura (and maybe the South Bay), will have some chest-high+ sets showing before the tide gets too high. NW spots in SD won’t see much new size in the morning, but that swell will fill in more by the afternoon.
Winds are still a little spotty for tomorrow, which is another reason that it won’t be a “surf-day”…the models can’t really decide on how things are going to shake out tomorrow. Based on what I have been looking at…it looks like we are going to see some light/variable to light/onshore texture for most areas in the morning. If the COAMPS are to be believed there may be some moderate onshore bump for the SB/Ventura areas in the morning. NW winds 10-15 knots will be on tap for all areas by the afternoon.
So there it is…not much improvement, but still better than being flat. The morning tide moves back a little bit so if you can get on it early shape won’t be horribly swampy (but you might want to write-off midmorning. Personally I am planning on giving the cams a check…maybe a quick drive-by if the winds don’t look bad…but overall I am not expecting to do much surf board riding tomorrow. Stick to the small wave gear if you do head out…you will probably be able to squeeze a little more fun from the conditions.
Here are the tides…
03:59AM LST 2.7 L
10:21AM LST 6.0 H
06:16PM LST -0.4 L
Remember the new regional forecasts are up and running…
Santa Barbara - http://socalforecastsb.blogspot.com/
Ventura - http://socalforecastven.blogspot.com/
Los Angeles - http://socalforecastla.blogspot.com/
Orange County - http://socalforecastoc.blogspot.com/
San Diego - http://socalforecastsd.blogspot.com/
We are going to start off with leftover NW/SW energy showing at most spots in the morning…but a new medium-short period NW swell (290-300) will start to filter into exposed breaks as we move through the day.
Look for most of the average WNW-NW facing breaks to start off around knee high with some waist high sets mixing in. Top NW facing spots, mostly up around Ventura (and maybe the South Bay), will have some chest-high+ sets showing before the tide gets too high. NW spots in SD won’t see much new size in the morning, but that swell will fill in more by the afternoon.
Winds are still a little spotty for tomorrow, which is another reason that it won’t be a “surf-day”…the models can’t really decide on how things are going to shake out tomorrow. Based on what I have been looking at…it looks like we are going to see some light/variable to light/onshore texture for most areas in the morning. If the COAMPS are to be believed there may be some moderate onshore bump for the SB/Ventura areas in the morning. NW winds 10-15 knots will be on tap for all areas by the afternoon.
So there it is…not much improvement, but still better than being flat. The morning tide moves back a little bit so if you can get on it early shape won’t be horribly swampy (but you might want to write-off midmorning. Personally I am planning on giving the cams a check…maybe a quick drive-by if the winds don’t look bad…but overall I am not expecting to do much surf board riding tomorrow. Stick to the small wave gear if you do head out…you will probably be able to squeeze a little more fun from the conditions.
Here are the tides…
03:59AM LST 2.7 L
10:21AM LST 6.0 H
06:16PM LST -0.4 L
Remember the new regional forecasts are up and running…
Santa Barbara - http://socalforecastsb.blogspot.com/
Ventura - http://socalforecastven.blogspot.com/
Los Angeles - http://socalforecastla.blogspot.com/
Orange County - http://socalforecastoc.blogspot.com/
San Diego - http://socalforecastsd.blogspot.com/
Southern California Long-range Surf Forecast – 11/05/2009
Forecast Overview
Our surf starts to slowly increase on Friday as new NW swell creeps in along with some building local windswell. A better NW swell, from the edges of the big storm in the Gulf of Alaska, will begin to blend into the mix on Saturday and will eventually peak on Sunday with some head high+ surf at the standout breaks. A smaller, but still rideable SW swell slips into the combo spots and good S-SW facing breaks Sunday and Monday. Make sure to watch out for slightly funky weather and the large tidal swings as we move through the weekend.
Short Range (next 4 days)
Friday
Look for a slow start on Friday but our surf will eventually start to increase as a new NW swell (290-300) begins to send in some short-medium period energy and a weak windswell/SW swell hold in the background. Surf for the morning will average around knee high with a few slightly bigger sets showing at the standout NW facing breaks. Look for better NW spots to build into the waist-chest high range by the evening…top spots will be slightly bigger at times. Winds/Weather: Winds will be little unstable Friday morning…overall it looks light and variable but with a few pockets of onshore texture in a few areas. Expect NW winds 10-15+ knots to build in through the afternoon.
Saturday
Our mix of NW swell (290-300) gets a little bigger as we see some extra energy from local windswell and the first long-period bits from the bigger NW swell (again 290-300+)…SW swell leftovers continue to hold in the background. Look for the average WNW-NW facing breaks to bump up to the waist-chest high+ range while the standout NW spots, particularly those from LA northward, will see some chest-shoulder high waves as the swell mix fills in and a chance for some bigger sets by the late afternoon/evening. Winds/Weather: Still looking a little funky windwise...a cold front is expected to pass through the area this weekend and the wind models are calling for N-NW winds around 10 knots for SB/Ventura. OC and SD would see more W-WSW onshore flow in the 5-6 knot range. LA for some reason looks more E-SE winds with some almost eddyish circulation pulling winds around through the South Bay.
Sunday
The new NW swell (290-300+ with lots of shadowing from Point Conception and the Nearshore Islands) will peak as a new SW swell (200-220) fills in a bit more. Look for the average NW spots to build into the chest-shoulder high occasionally head high range. Standout NW facing spots, in Ventura, The South Bay, and San Diego, will be consistently in the shoulder-head high+ range with some inconsistent overhead+ sets mixing in. SW facing spots will be more in the waist-chest high range while the standout SW breaks, mostly through South OC/North SD, see some inconsistent shoulder high sets. Winds/Weather: winds clean up…mostly light and variable in the morning with some pockets of onshore texture at the really wind sensitive areas. Look for NW winds 10-14 knots by the afternoon.
Monday
The NW’er (290-300+) will start to slowly back off along with the smaller SW swell (200-220). Average NW spots see chest-shoulder high sizes while the top spots see more chest-head high surf with some plus sets still showing in the morning. SW breaks continue to hold in the waist-chest high+ range. Winds/Weather: Conditions look pretty good…mostly light and variable winds through the morning, even light offshore for a couple of areas. NW winds around 10-14 knots build in through the afternoon.
Long-Range
North Pacific
Storm activity definitely picked up in the North Pacific over the last few days. We had moderate storm spin through our swell window earlier this week that will send in some playful/rideable waves on Friday and into Saturday.
A much bigger storm is grinding through the Gulf of Alaska right now that will be sending a large NW swell to Northern and Central California this weekend…and a smaller version of this swell to Southern California. You can get a lot more details on this storm and how the energy will hit Nor/Cen California on the swell-alert that I sent out earlier…you can read the alert here…
http://socalforecast.blogspot.com/2009/11/swell-alert-large-wnwer-heading-to.html
Southern California will see that new NW swell (290-300+) fill in slowly through the day on Saturday and then peak on Sunday before slowly fading on Monday. As the swell peaks look for many spots to have consistent chest-shoulder high surf with some bigger sets. Standout breaks will be shoulder-overhead pretty consistently with some bigger overhead+ waves sneaking in at times.
Further Out the NPAC is going to calm down a little bit…it won’t go totally quiet but overall activity does back down a lot. At this point it looks like we will see another playful sized chest-shoulder high NW swell (285-300) that moves in around the 11-12th. Not much showing after that one…at least right now.
South Pacific
The SPAC is still a snoozefest thanks to a stubborn ridge of high pressure holding position across a lot of the mid-latitudes…we will have a slightly better SW’er showing this upcoming weekend. This SW swell (210-220) that came from an ok, but not great, storm over by New Zealand. This new pulse will start to arrive on Saturday…build slowly, with inconsistent sets, throughout the day and will eventually peak on Sunday/Monday with surf in the waist-high+ range for many spots and a few chest high+ sets at the standout SW facing breaks. There will be a much stronger NW swell in the water at the time…so expect this swell to get mostly lost at the NW/SW combo spots…but hopefully it will add enough energy that we see some peakier shape at the better exposed breaks.
Further Out there isn’t much showing on the long-range charts…just a little bit of fetch hanging around New Zealand that will continue to poop out some weak SW pulses that will filter in as we head toward the middle of the month.
Northeast Pacific Tropics
There is a little tropical disturbance starting to pull together down by Mainland Mexico that is showing some signs of development.
Overall tropical weather conditions are decent…so this may actually become a tropical depression…maybe more…in the next couple of days though even if it does strengthen it would still be several more days before it could reach the Socal swell window. Still it bears watching though…I’ll let you know if anything changes.
Next Long-range forecast will be posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009
Adam Wright
Surf Forecaster
http://www.socalsurf.com/
Our surf starts to slowly increase on Friday as new NW swell creeps in along with some building local windswell. A better NW swell, from the edges of the big storm in the Gulf of Alaska, will begin to blend into the mix on Saturday and will eventually peak on Sunday with some head high+ surf at the standout breaks. A smaller, but still rideable SW swell slips into the combo spots and good S-SW facing breaks Sunday and Monday. Make sure to watch out for slightly funky weather and the large tidal swings as we move through the weekend.
Short Range (next 4 days)
Friday
Look for a slow start on Friday but our surf will eventually start to increase as a new NW swell (290-300) begins to send in some short-medium period energy and a weak windswell/SW swell hold in the background. Surf for the morning will average around knee high with a few slightly bigger sets showing at the standout NW facing breaks. Look for better NW spots to build into the waist-chest high range by the evening…top spots will be slightly bigger at times. Winds/Weather: Winds will be little unstable Friday morning…overall it looks light and variable but with a few pockets of onshore texture in a few areas. Expect NW winds 10-15+ knots to build in through the afternoon.
Saturday
Our mix of NW swell (290-300) gets a little bigger as we see some extra energy from local windswell and the first long-period bits from the bigger NW swell (again 290-300+)…SW swell leftovers continue to hold in the background. Look for the average WNW-NW facing breaks to bump up to the waist-chest high+ range while the standout NW spots, particularly those from LA northward, will see some chest-shoulder high waves as the swell mix fills in and a chance for some bigger sets by the late afternoon/evening. Winds/Weather: Still looking a little funky windwise...a cold front is expected to pass through the area this weekend and the wind models are calling for N-NW winds around 10 knots for SB/Ventura. OC and SD would see more W-WSW onshore flow in the 5-6 knot range. LA for some reason looks more E-SE winds with some almost eddyish circulation pulling winds around through the South Bay.
Sunday
The new NW swell (290-300+ with lots of shadowing from Point Conception and the Nearshore Islands) will peak as a new SW swell (200-220) fills in a bit more. Look for the average NW spots to build into the chest-shoulder high occasionally head high range. Standout NW facing spots, in Ventura, The South Bay, and San Diego, will be consistently in the shoulder-head high+ range with some inconsistent overhead+ sets mixing in. SW facing spots will be more in the waist-chest high range while the standout SW breaks, mostly through South OC/North SD, see some inconsistent shoulder high sets. Winds/Weather: winds clean up…mostly light and variable in the morning with some pockets of onshore texture at the really wind sensitive areas. Look for NW winds 10-14 knots by the afternoon.
Monday
The NW’er (290-300+) will start to slowly back off along with the smaller SW swell (200-220). Average NW spots see chest-shoulder high sizes while the top spots see more chest-head high surf with some plus sets still showing in the morning. SW breaks continue to hold in the waist-chest high+ range. Winds/Weather: Conditions look pretty good…mostly light and variable winds through the morning, even light offshore for a couple of areas. NW winds around 10-14 knots build in through the afternoon.
Long-Range
North Pacific
Storm activity definitely picked up in the North Pacific over the last few days. We had moderate storm spin through our swell window earlier this week that will send in some playful/rideable waves on Friday and into Saturday.
A much bigger storm is grinding through the Gulf of Alaska right now that will be sending a large NW swell to Northern and Central California this weekend…and a smaller version of this swell to Southern California. You can get a lot more details on this storm and how the energy will hit Nor/Cen California on the swell-alert that I sent out earlier…you can read the alert here…
http://socalforecast.blogspot.com/2009/11/swell-alert-large-wnwer-heading-to.html
Southern California will see that new NW swell (290-300+) fill in slowly through the day on Saturday and then peak on Sunday before slowly fading on Monday. As the swell peaks look for many spots to have consistent chest-shoulder high surf with some bigger sets. Standout breaks will be shoulder-overhead pretty consistently with some bigger overhead+ waves sneaking in at times.
Further Out the NPAC is going to calm down a little bit…it won’t go totally quiet but overall activity does back down a lot. At this point it looks like we will see another playful sized chest-shoulder high NW swell (285-300) that moves in around the 11-12th. Not much showing after that one…at least right now.
South Pacific
The SPAC is still a snoozefest thanks to a stubborn ridge of high pressure holding position across a lot of the mid-latitudes…we will have a slightly better SW’er showing this upcoming weekend. This SW swell (210-220) that came from an ok, but not great, storm over by New Zealand. This new pulse will start to arrive on Saturday…build slowly, with inconsistent sets, throughout the day and will eventually peak on Sunday/Monday with surf in the waist-high+ range for many spots and a few chest high+ sets at the standout SW facing breaks. There will be a much stronger NW swell in the water at the time…so expect this swell to get mostly lost at the NW/SW combo spots…but hopefully it will add enough energy that we see some peakier shape at the better exposed breaks.
Further Out there isn’t much showing on the long-range charts…just a little bit of fetch hanging around New Zealand that will continue to poop out some weak SW pulses that will filter in as we head toward the middle of the month.
Northeast Pacific Tropics
There is a little tropical disturbance starting to pull together down by Mainland Mexico that is showing some signs of development.
Overall tropical weather conditions are decent…so this may actually become a tropical depression…maybe more…in the next couple of days though even if it does strengthen it would still be several more days before it could reach the Socal swell window. Still it bears watching though…I’ll let you know if anything changes.
Next Long-range forecast will be posted on Monday, November 9th, 2009
Adam Wright
Surf Forecaster
http://www.socalsurf.com/
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