Friday’s Surf – More swell on the way

Friday will definitely be a fun surf day at the winter breaks.

The WNW swell that showed on Thursday will hold into Friday…average spots will continue to see chest-shoulder high+ surf while the standout spots (in the usual NW facing areas) see head high+ sets.

Conditions are looking clean with light/variable to light offshore winds in the morning and light onshore flow in the afternoon. There is still a fairly large tide swing so try and time your surf so that you don’t get blasted by the high or the extreme low.

Again if you are looking for the biggest most consistent surf look at spots in San Diego and Ventura. The South Bay and North OC will have some decent size as well but it will be a little smaller with longer waits between sets. Santa Barbara will have some waves as well but expect it to be pretty small as you move northward along the coast.

Saturday new WNW swell arrives and will be bigger and better aimed. Look for all W facing breaks to see head high+ sets and standout areas to see sets going 2-3’ overhead at times.

Thursday’s Surf – New WNW swell

Thursday looks plenty surfable. We will have a decent combo of fading WNW energy and a new WNW swell (290-300) in the water. Winds are expected to be light and variable through the morning and then stay on the light side in the afternoon.

I am expecting most W facing beaches to see surf in the chest-shoulder high+ range while the best exposed breaks of San Diego, Ventura, and the LA South Bay, see consistent head high surf and some overhead sets mixing in at times. This swell will be showing fairly strong for the Ventura and LA areas through the morning, (Santa Barbara sees some of it but stays a bit shadowed due to the swell angle). OC and San Diego will pick up more in the afternoon. All areas will see this swell hold waves into Friday.

I would definitely take a look at the cams in the morning…or if you are close enough drive down to the beach and look at it in person. The swell period is pretty long as the swell starts so expect to wait around between the bigger sets…also expect to see quite a difference in size when you look at breaks that are not well exposed to the swell.

Don’t worry if you can’t surf on Thursday… there will be a bigger and better-aimed WNW swell (280-300) arriving over the weekend.

Surf on Wednesday – Now with a slightly lower chance of brown trout

Wednesday will have plenty of waves. The WNW mix that has been pushing through will continue to send in some surf but it will lose a little steam, at least in the morning. Most exposed breaks will continue to see chest-shoulder high surf while the standout winter areas in SD and Ventura see some head high sets.

Shape will still be a little stacked up…sort of wind-swelly and warbly at times…but it should be fun at spots that like the shorter period swells. Beach breaks with good sandbars, jetties, and piers always seem to be pretty fun on swells like these.

Water quality will still be an issue, particularly in areas that have had a ton of rain…you will probably be all right if you stay away from river mouths and storm drains. If you really want to be safe I would hold off for a couple of days.

I will probably wait one more day to let the water clean up a touch more…but I am stoked on the new WNW swell that hits later this week with cleaner conditions and longer-period swells…I think it will be pretty fun.

New WNW swells arrive later this week (decent conditions too!)

The North Pacific is at it again…except, compared to last week, it looks like we will get the surf without the bad weather.

The forecasts are showing a couple of decent back-to-back WNW swells that begin arriving later this week and hold into the weekend.



The first WNW’er (285-300) begins arriving on Thursday and peaks overnight into Friday (Jan 10-11th). A lot of the energy of this swell is coming in above the 290-degree mark which means that some areas will be shadowed, and quite a bit smaller, than the more exposed areas. On the average most “winter” spots will be around chest-shoulder high+. Standout NW breaks in San Diego, Ventura, and the South Bay will see overhead sets.

The second WNW swell (280-300) arrives on Saturday and will peak through into Sunday. This second round of swell will have a more open swell angle and should have a little more size and consistency for exposed breaks. Look for the average areas to see shoulder-head high sets while the standouts (again in SD, Ventura, and South LA) see sets going a couple of feet overhead.

Conditions are looking good for both swells…winds are expected to be variable through the mornings of the work week and then shift more Northerly (and stay around 10-knots) for the weekend.

It looks like these swells may be worth driving for...particularly if you are looking for bigger waves off the first swell. On swell #1 I would probably head to San Diego Friday morning. The swell will have filled in and most of the breaks from La Jolla southward should have some decent size.

A lot more spots will be open to swell #2...on that swell I don't think you are going to need to go very far to find waves...lots of winter spots will be working. SD, Ventura, and LA South Bay will be the biggest but you should be able to find decent head high+ surf at the top winter spots in the other areas as well.

Friday’s Surf – Not looking good.

Surf on Friday is going to be pretty stormy. Lots of S wind and rain are forecast to start moving in through the day…eventually the storm peaks out overnight into Saturday (which pretty much writes off the weekend as well.) W-WNW storm swell will be building but there will be practically no spots clean enough to surf.

On Friday morning there may be a small pocket of surfable conditions in the morning. Winds are expected to start out of the S-SE before coming directly onshore. If winds don’t seem very strong when you wake up in the morning it may be worth checking out a break that is protected from the S winds…like parts of La Jolla, the South Bay, a few breaks in Ventura, and some in Central OC. I don’t think it will be great…or even good…but it may be surfable which will be a lot better than most other spots.

Here is a picture of the new swell filling in today.

Thursday’s update – Some surf before the storm

Thursday we will get some new WNW swell (280-300+) arriving right before the approaching storm front. I don’t think waves will get super big before the winds and weather arrive but we should definitely see a pick-up in wave heights.

At this point the morning is looking fairly clean…winds are forecast to be out of the E-SE around 10+ knots. They will steadily increase through the morning (and shift more Southerly) and should be pretty junky by the afternoon.

The more northern areas of Santa Barbara and Ventura will definitely see an increase in wave heights early in the morning. Those areas will be in the waist-shoulder high range while a few of the standout NW facing spots in Ventura see some head high sets. (maybe even bigger on some of the random sets).

Spots further south (The South Bay down through San Diego) will have new energy showing but it will not have filled in that well yet. Most of those areas will be closer to waist-chest high while a few of the best standouts in the South Bay, San Diego, and North OC, see some inconsistent bigger sets.

I think this will be the last chance to surf before we get rain, crappy winds, and more poo water run-off for the weekend…so if you are close to the exposed breaks it will be worth a check. I would still probably look at the cams in the morning just to make sure the wind hasn’t switched around to the S earlier than the forecast.

Wednesday – Waiting for the storm

Wednesday looks similar to Tuesday but with a little less swell. Overall it looks like another longboard day for most spots...average breaks will be in the knee high range. Top NW facing breaks will be closer to waist-chest high on inconsistent sets.

Conditions will be clean in the morning but winds are expected to shift more S-SE by late in the day.

I am probably going to skip the surf on Wednesday unless I suddenly find myself with a ton of time on my hands. If you have to surf, go to a NW exposed beach break, bring your small wave gear and expect to be sitting around for a while between sets. Santa Barbara and most of Northern LA County will be small to almost flat. Ventura, the South Bay, and San Diego will be the biggest…and a few of the North County beach breaks (like HB) in OC will probably have a few longboard waves as well.

The incoming storm
The storm is still looking pretty strong as we head into the weekend. Looks like bad weather and winds will start pushing through on Thursday and then stick around for most of the weekend. There will be some overhead+ surf from this incoming W storm swell but conditions and water quality will likely be pretty crappy as well. Cross your fingers…there may be a chance that we get at least some WNW swell before the weather hits on Thursday.

Surf on New Years Day

Happy New Years Eve! Hope you guys have a good party lined up tonight…anyway on to the surf.

The surf looks only OK on Tuesday…nothing to get super excited about. We will have a mix of NW and SW swells in the water both of which are fading very slowly. Most spots throughout SoCal will be in the knee-waist high+ range while the better NW facing breaks, mostly in Ventura and San Diego, will have some chest-shoulder high sets.

Winds look good through the morning…mostly light to moderate offshore. Winds go slightly ESE-SE by the evening but stay on the light side.

I think you should probably give yourself a slow start on Tuesday…the surf isn’t going to be spectacular, there will be crowds because it is a holiday, and it will be pretty chilly early in the morning. Personally I think the better winter beach breaks, mid-morning, will be the best call…you can find a less crowded sandbar, maybe break out the longboard if the tide is too high.

Later this week looks really stormy…lots of new W-WNW storm swell but a lot of junky S-SW winds and rain as well. I am expecting overhead surf by Friday/Saturday but with poor conditions. There may be a few protected spots but water quality is definitely going to be an issue again. More details on the weekend as we move closer.

Have a great 2008 everyone!

Waves for the weekend – New NW swell on Sunday

Looks like this weekend will be fun…weather will be a bit iffy on Saturday but winds should shift back offshore on Sunday.

Swellwise we will see fading surf on Saturday. Most spots will drop to about knee-waist high. San Diego spots (and maybe some South Bay breaks) will have some chest high+ sets.

Sunday we see new NW swell (290-300+) start moving in. This sort of swell angle is only going to show at some spots…look for the best waves from this swell to show in Southern Ventura, the South Bay, and San Diego (from La Jolla southward). Those expose areas will have surf in the chest-shoulder high range with a few of the best breaks hitting head high on the sets. San Diego may start off a little slow in the morning as well…should be better by the afternoon and into Monday.

Other lesser exposed areas will be closer to knee-waist high off a mix of local windswell and leftover S-SW swell.

To me it looks like Saturday is going to be a longboard day…winds may not even be that good…so it will be a sleep-in, check the cameras, see if I have anything else to do, and then longboard sort of morning.

Sunday is looking better…particularly if you are up in Ventura or the South Bay. San Diego will be bigger as well but the swell will take a while to fill in down there. I am not sure if this swell will really be worth driving that far, but it is a holiday weekend so you might feel like you have the time.

Friday’s Surf – More waves and an online store (just in time for Christmas)

Friday will start off as another surf day.

Our swell mix will be the same as Thursday…with a little less windswell and smaller SSW swell. Most spots will be in the waist high+ range while the standout NW/Combo spots (in SD, parts of OC, Southern Ventura, and the South Bay) see some chest to occasionally shoulder high sets.

Conditions will start off clean with mostly light/variable winds. Expect more onshore W-WSW texture during the afternoon…and watch out for some light showers as we head into Friday evening.

The best surf is going to be at the high-tide spots in San Diego. The other good combo breaks, in the other areas, will be smaller but should still have some rideable sets. Expect northern LA and Santa Barbara to be pretty weak. The high-tide peak will continue to mush out shape through mid-morning…so you might want to get on it pretty early…or cross your fingers and hope winds stay light through the afternoon.

On another note…I built a little online store with CafePress.com. There are some shirts, sweatshirts, coffee mugs, and hats…some stickers too.

Check it out when you get a chance. Here is the link.

http://www.cafepress.com/socalforecast

Thursday’s Surf – Some waves with a side of high-tide

Thursday looks pretty surfable...our NW and SSW swells will continue to send in some waves in the chest-high+ range while standout spots see bigger sets. The Wind, which is expected to blow onshore throughout Wednesday night (adding some windswell to the swell mix), will switch back to the N-NE and will help to clean up conditions.

About the only bummer is the 5’+ high tide that rolls through mid-morning. That high of a tide will bog down a lot of areas and push the surf up close to the beach giving it near shorebreak shape.

Expect the biggest and best surf at breaks in San Diego, The South Bay, and parts of OC that can handle the higher tide (good sandbars, reefs, or points). Other spots will be smaller and less consistent…particularly up towards Santa Barbara.

Surf on Wednesday – Some assembly required?

Ok Wednesday is looking like a surf day but conditions could be a little funky.

There will be plenty of swell on Wednesday…we have both a steep NW swell and some new, very out of season, SSW swell. Most spots will be in the chest-shoulder high+ range while the standouts, particularly San Diego, Ventura and parts of OC, will have some head high+ sets on the better parts of the tide swing.

Unfortunately it looks like the nice offshore conditions that we had on Christmas will break down a touch on Wednesday. Forecasts are calling for building onshore flow as a weak cold front rolls over the area…these winds will be fairly strong by the afternoon.

Ok here is the skinny as I see it…even though we have swell in the water I would probably do a cam check in the morning, (unless you are still on vacation, in which case I say uh…bite me…hahahaha). I would take a look at the camera just because the of the wind forecast…there is a good chance that the day will start off clean, especially if your break is a little protected, but the front could slide in a little early and why waste gas and time if you don’t have to.

On a whole different note…most of you dads will appreciate this. I busted open the box to put this bad-boy together at like 11:30pm last night. I think that the term “some assembly required” on the instructions was written with a certain amount of sarcasm.

Monday’s surf - are you done shopping yet?

Hey gang…sorry I missed the last couple of days. I am still sore from snowboarding on Friday (maybe the feeling in my fingers will come back some day) and also a little laid up by that never ending round of the bird flu that everyone seems to be passing back and forth.

That being said there were a few little waves at the beach today thanks to a mix of fading WNW windswell and some small S swell. It looked fun and the weather couldn’t be beat.

Monday looks very similar so it should be pretty fun, particularly because it is a holiday. In the water there will be a touch more S swell and a little bit more WNW energy. Most breaks will hold around waist high+ while the best combo breaks see some chest-high+ sets. Conditions should be clean again with just some light onshore texture in the afternoon.

I think your best bet for waves will probably be the well exposed combo beach breaks…they won’t be stellar but there should be enough peaks to spread out the crowd and a little more size than you would see at a spot that only picks up one of the swells. I think that San Diego and parts of OC will be the best call…no worth driving very far for but fun if you need some waves.

Friday’s Surf – Looks fun

On Friday our surf starts to look a little more appealing than it has for the last few days. There will be a new WNW wind/ground swell combo, and some small SW swell in the background. Most breaks will hold around waist-chest high while the standouts see some shoulder-head high sets.

Winds are looking better too…it looks like light N winds (even slightly NE) for the morning, particularly through Santa Barbara, Ventura, and LA.

OC and SD will have a little more side-texture to it but I think winds will be on the light side so conditions should be clean enough to surf.

I would look for the best waves at the beach breaks on this swell mix…the points and reefs will be fun too but the more open beach breaks will let you get a few waves to yourself (hopefully).

Personally I am going to shoot for surfing in the afternoon…I am going to make a Snow Summit snowboard run…then if I get back in time, and the winds hold, maybe hit the local beach break. I love SoCal…one of the only places where you can hit the mountains and the surf in the same day.

Surf on Wednesday - Looks a little breezy

Our weather is not looking very good on Wednesday. At this point winds are expected to be out of the SW around 10-15 knots through the morning and then strengthen out of the W around 15-20+ knots by the afternoon.

There really aren’t any breaks that are protected from these wind directions so most spots are going to be pretty sloppy. Surf will be around waist-shoulder high (bigger in SD and Ventura) if you absolutely have to paddle out…but don’t expect much in the way of shape.

As usual on days like these I recommend that you check the cameras in the morning…there is always a possibility that a little nugget of cleanliness may sneak through at some of the more protected breaks.

Tuesday’s surf – more waves and more weather

The surf will come up more on Tuesday…but it looks like rain…and maybe some S-SW winds will start to wreck it by the afternoon.

If you were in the water (or checking it) on Monday you probably noticed that a there was a little more WNW swell in the water. A few spots around Ventura and the South Bay looked like they had some decent surf during the dawn patrol.

This new burst of WNW swell will actually peak early Tuesday morning and should hold waves throughout the day. Most spots will be around waist-chest high+ while the standout NW facing breaks in the good winter areas (San Diego, Ventura, South Bay, and North OC) will have some shoulder-head high surf. Best spots may be a little bigger.
Winds are looking light through the morning but we may have a bit of a S-SE texture to it. SW winds in the 10-15 knot range will move through during the afternoon.

Your best bet for waves will be those winter spots that are protected from S-SE winds…the South Bay, parts of Central OC, Parts of Southern Ventura, and the La Jolla area all have breaks that stay clean on the southerly winds. Points and reefs if you can find them will probably have the best shape...beach breaks will be fun but probably not working quite as well.Unless you are on vacation and have all your Christmas shopping done I wouldn’t waste too much time driving anywhere. I think it will be worth checking your local spots but not sitting in traffic for an unreasonable amount of time.

Surf over the weekend

Looks like we will have some small, but playful surf over the weekend.

I actually got out for a surf today and while it wasn’t great there were some playful corners that snuck through every once in a while.

The weekend’s surf will be very similar to Friday. We will have a mix of WNW (285-300) and SW swell (190-210) that will keep wave heights in the knee-waist high+ range at the average exposed breaks while the standouts spots…mostly in San Diego, parts of Southern Ventura, and Southern OC…see some chest-shoulder high sets. There are a couple of little swell pulses that overlap for the next couple of days so wave heights will stay pretty steady...maybe even get a bit more consistent by Sunday.

Tides will still be an issue so expect soft shape at times. Winds on the other hand look light for the next couple of days so you can probably wait for the tide to swing around and still get decent shape.

I think your best bet for surf this weekend will be at the combo beach breaks. Biggest waves will be in San Diego but it won’t be worth driving very far. Again check the cams in the morning…mostly to make sure the tide hasn’t shut it down.

Have a good weekend everybody…my next update will probably be on Sunday night.

Surf for Friday – High Tide Swamptacular!

I checked the surf at lunch here on Thursday…it had picked up from the morning but it was still tide-swamped and inconsistent so I couldn’t bring myself to paddle out.

The good news is that this swell will fill in a little more and get a little more consistent on Friday.

The bad news is that the high tide that peaks mid-morning will continue to keep most of the day soft and slow…unless you don’t mind surfing shorebreak or have a really good sandbar hidden somewhere. After seeing how badly the tide is abusing this swell mix I think I may have overestimated its potential funness.

In the water we will have a mix of WNW and SW energy, which will be good for knee-waist high surf at most breaks…and a few chest high+ sets at the standouts. Not a very impressive swell mix…but better than being totally flat. San Diego will probably be the biggest and most consistent…north county will probably be the most fun. (fun being a relative term)

Check out the CDIP swell model…hmm almost makes me want to take a nap.




Friday I will probably do the cam thing in the morning. If it looks like it isn’t just shorebreak then I may take a drive to check it in person. Unless you are really desperate to surf, or to taste saltwater or something, don’t waste you time driving very far. It may be worth keeping an eye on it for the afternoon...the winds look look light and the tide will be lower so there may be a chance of getting some waves late in the day.

Thursday’s Surf – Finally a few rideable waves

Surf comes up a little on Thursday. We have a mix of new WNW swell and some new SW swell. As I have said in the forecasts before, neither of them are looking particularly strong but the combo of swells, clean conditions, and total lack of surf over the last couple of days could make them seem fun.

Most breaks will see surf in the knee-waist high range. Standout spots will be in the waist-chest high+ range. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a few shoulder high sets but I think they are going to be pretty rate.

The tide is going to be an issue…there is a 5’+ high tide that rolls through right in mid-morning (around 10-11am)…so expect shape to be on the slow side. You are going to want to look at breaks that can handle a higher tide. Fortunately winds are going to be light for most of the day, which could give us a chance to get a few waves on the lower tide in the afternoon.

Personally I am going to check the cams in the morning because I am little worried that there won’t be enough swell showing for the dawn patrol to push through the fat high tide. I will probably make sure to look right at sunrise…then head out if I see some waves showing. If for some reason it doesn’t pull together for the dawn patrol I will be checking it again at lunch.

Surf (or lack there of) on Wednesday

Not much is going to change on Wednesday. We will continue to have mostly clean small surf.

There will be a little bit of leftover windswell and some very small background pulses of NW and SW swell…these are so small that I wouldn’t even mention it if we had a real swell in the water.

Wave heights will hold around ankle-knee high…a few of the better beach breaks will have some waist high+ sets. Conditions will be clean but the building tide…and lack of swell…will keep shape soft, slow, and (in my opinion) on the poor side.

Things do pick up a touch on Thursday and Friday. There will be a little increase in both WNW and SW swell…neither look like very significant swells but there should be enough energy for us to get out and surf. I am expecting most spots to build into knee-waist high+ surf while the standouts…mostly in San Diego and OC (maybe a couple of parts of the South Bay and Ventura too) see some waist-chest high+ sets on the lower tides.