Swellwise we are going to have a new WNW-NW swell (280-300) peak over the weekend…really peaking late Saturday afternoon/evening…but pushing solid surf into exposed spots on both days. There is some S-SSW energy that is will still sort of sneak in through the background but it is pretty small and the S-facing spots shouldn’t expect much from it.
Saturday wave heights are going to be a bit funky in the morning as the high tide peaks again…it will bury the surf, or turn it into punchy shorebreak at most spots. There are, however, a handful of WNW-NW facing breaks that can handle the extra-water…and so we can expect some chest-head high surf for most of those breaks through the morning…a few of the top spots, particularly up through Ventura (since the swell will be showing earlier there than spots further south), will have overhead+ sets showing at times.
As the tide drops and the WNW-NW swell fills in a bit more expect the average WNW-NW facing spots to build into the shoulder-head high range. Standout NW facing spots, in Ventura, the South Bay, and Southern San Diego, can expect shoulder-overhead surf pretty consistently with some sets going 2-3’ feet overhead at times.
Saturday’s winds look a little more onshore…not super bad but more than the last couple of days. Look for light and variable to variable onshore bump for most spots in the morning and then WNW-NW winds around 10-15 knots for the afternoon.
Sunday will see pretty much the same thing as Saturday…the swell is about the same size and we have another lame morning high tide….about the only difference will be a shorter swell-period, which will shift the swells focal points away from breaks that like the longer-period energy. For example…Santa Barbara’s surf will fill in a bit more and we will see the swell show more evenly at spots throughout the South Bay and Southern San Diego…at the same time Ventura and North OC will lose a little size. Not a huge change, but enough that you will want to keep it in mind as we move through the weekend.
Sunday’s winds look better…light offshore on tap for most areas through the morning and then sort of variable to variable onshore flow around 10-12 knots for the afternoon.
Overall it looks like we could have fun this weekend…water quality still won’t be great but we have had a couple of dry days to help slow down the runoff and hopefully let some of the poop dilute a bit. I wish the tide wasn’t so freaking high but I haven’t quite figured out to blow up the moon yet.
Make sure to check the regional forecasts to see how the swell mix affects the different stretches of coastline.
Regional/County Forecasts
Santa Barbara Surf Forecast
Ventura County Surf Forecast
Los Angeles County Surf Forecast
Orange County Surf Forecast
San Diego Surf Forecast
Here are the tides…have a great weekend…
01/30/2010 Saturday
02:30AM LST 1.2 L
08:31AM LST 6.6 H
03:35PM LST -1.5 L
09:48PM LST 4.6 H
01/31/2010 Sunday
03:20AM LST 0.9 L
09:18AM LST 6.2 H
04:12PM LST -1.2 L
10:25PM LST 4.8 H
5 comments:
another el nino bust so far for sat =/
where are you checking?...I just did a drive-by of HB and the NW spots are easliy overhead on the sets.
There was some *big* close-outs mixed in with OH set waves at the only place in OC that seems to pick up west swells.
Not as big as Porto or other S Bay spots by any stretch, but at least it has some winter juice + it's worth not having to drive 1hr norte.
28th street newport about 11 am i guess it just didnt fill in till the afternoon, i live on 11th street (hb) its usually bigger down at select spots in newport with better shape so i usually drive down there. i took a quick check across the street about 4pm looks like the swell is filling in (sorry for the el nino comment hah)
You live on 11th in HB and you're not walking up to Tower X to partake in the pro-ho festival on a certain unnamed sandbar?
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