Friday’s Surf – Sort of rideable on the low tide

Friday is looking surfable…but with the overall swell mix dropping it won’t be much of a surf day compared to earlier in the week.

We are going to see a mix of overlapping S-SW swells (180-210) both of which will be slowly dropping…and a touch of background NW energy.



Most spots are going to back down into the knee-waist high range…with a few rare waist high+ sets through the lower tides. Standout S facing breaks, and the best combo spots, will be slightly bigger…around waist-chest high…again with a few rare plus sets now and then. Overall it is going to be pretty inconsistent, sort-of soft, and a bit slow thanks to the lower swell periods and the fatter tides that roll through in the morning.

Winds look ok…light and variable for most areas, maybe a touch of texture at the really exposed spots. Afternoon winds come onshore out of the WNW around 10-14 knots.



It won’t be anything special tomorrow…just sort of leftovers but not completely flat…a good beginners day most likely. We can still expect the biggest surf (that being a relative term) through Orange County…and a few other scattered areas that have decent southerly exposure. I don’t think it will be worth spending a lot of time looking for waves tomorrow, if you find a semi-decent looking shoulder get out on it, but don’t drive all day looking for one.

Here are the tides…

02:18AM LDT 3.1 H
05:36AM LDT 2.8 L
12:27PM LDT 5.4 H
08:48PM LDT 0.4 L

Surf on Thursday – A few waves and some more eddy winds

Thursday is going to be a semi-surf day.

There will still be some energy in the water from a few different sources, the tides will be low in the morning, and winds don’t look horrible...but overall I don’t think all of the elements are going to mix the right way.

Swellwise we are going to see a mix of S-SW swell (180-210), some NW windswell, and a bit of tropical SE swell (160-170) from TS Blanca. That tropical swell was showing a bit this morning on the S-facing buoys...check it out...



Is it just me or is the Swell Intensity Indicator Graph giving me the finger?

The average spots are going to hold right around knee-waist high with a few waist high+ sets sneaking through on the lower tides. The standout S facing breaks, and the good combo spots, will have surf in the waist-chest high range with a few inconsistent shoulder high lines through the morning.

Winds look a little eddyish again tomorrow...sort of SSW-SSE around 5+ knots...with the cleanest conditions at spots with protection from the southerly winds. WNW winds around 10-12 knots will return in the afternoon.



Overall, if you couldn’t tell, I am not really excited about the surf tomorrow. I think there will be a few rideable waves, maybe even a couple of pockets of fun surf, but nothing that will be worth driving too far for. I would plan on using your small wave gear...just to get the most out of the surf. Points, reefs, and spots that can focus the surf will probably have the best shape. Oh and at least one good thing is coming from having the eddy winds...the water temps have been slowly climbing out of the 50’s.

Here are the tides...

05:33AM LDT -0.4 L
11:57AM LDT 3.7 H
04:45PM LDT 2.3 L
10:41PM LDT 5.4 H

Surf for Thursday – SW swell and a bit of crumble

Thursday looks like a semi-surf day.

Overall it won’t be anything special...just sort of typical summer surf day...inconsistent SW swell and a touch of onshore texture that builds throughout the day.

We are going to have a mix of SW swells (190-220 from a couple of different storms) and some NW windswell.



Most breaks are going to be in the knee-waist high range with some chest high sneakers on the lower tides. The top SW facing spots, mostly those in South OC, North SD, and North LA, will be in the waist-chest high range with some inconsistent bigger sets. Look for the most consistent surf at spots that can combo up the SW/NW energy.

Winds aren’t going to be great tomorrow. It will be OK early in the morning...but I am still expecting some onshore texture even through the dawn patrol. Look for variable/W-SW winds around 5-10 knots by midmorning and more westerly winds around 10-15 knots on tap by the afternoon. Skies will be mostly cloudy but should burn off to clear skies by midday.



Like I said it won’t be a great surf day. The combo of morning tide, onshore texture, and overall inconsistency of the SW swell is going to be a bit of a bummer. That being said there are a few spots out there that have enough wind protection and swell exposure to set up a few fun sets...I wouldn’t drive very far to surf them...but if they are around the corner they will be worth a quick look-see. Personally I would probably bring your small wave board, just to squeeze more of a ride out of the inconsistent sets, and all the smaller in-between ones.

Here are the tides...

01:32AM LDT 0.2 L
07:53AM LDT 3.1 H
12:06PM LDT 2.3 L
06:37PM LDT 5.5 H

Thursday’s Surf – A little bit more swell, but watch the tides

Thursday will be rideable but it will sort of be on the "bubble" of being a surf day.

We are going to have a mix of peaking/holding S swell (170-180), some SW energy (200-220), and some local NW windswell. Unfortunately there isn’t a lot of SW swell in the water…and the S swell, by nature, is a bit more selective on what spots it hits…which is leaving a few gaps in surf out there. Check out the CDIP from this afternoon and you can see what I mean…



….those Dark Blue areas are not good.

On Thursday the S swell will come up a couple of notches and the SW’er will build as well. Most of the average exposed areas will be in the waist-chest high range. Standout S facing areas, mostly through Orange County and a few spots in North LA, will be in the chest-shoulder+ high range on the sets. It will still be a little inconsistent (and the morning negative low tide won’t help us out) so expect some wait between the bigger sets.

Winds look ok for most of SoCal but OC and SD will continue to see some pockets of eddy texture. It won’t be super blown out or anything but there will be some southerly crumble on a few of the more exposed spots. Mostly we can expect variable to slight southerly winds for the morning and some NW winds around 10-15 knots for the afternoon. Cleanest conditions will be through LA, particularly Santa Monica down through the South Bay.

I am not expecting a ton of fun out of the surf tomorrow. It will be rideable in the areas with exposure to the swell mix…but the best exposed spots, like those in OC, will have some onshore crumble and extreme low tides that will hamper surf shape. On the plus side…these conditions are notoriously fluky…so I would keep an eye on things through midmorning, we might see things improve as the tide starts to fill in.

Here are the tides…

06:15AM LDT -1.3 L
12:45PM LDT 4.1 H
05:49PM LDT 1.9 L
11:43PM LDT 6.0 H

Monday’s Surf – Smaller with a touch of eddy

Monday is looking surfable but it won’t be a great surf day.

We are going to see a mix of mostly leftover S swell (180-200), a smaller SW pulse, and a bit of local NW windswell from the outer waters.

In general we can expect surf around waist high for most spots…maybe a few waist high+ sets as the low tide rolls through in the morning. Top SW facing spots and good combo breaks will be more consistently in the chest high range with a few shoulder high waves on the better parts of the tide swing.

Winds are looking ok…the forecast is calling for light winds through the day but with a “WITH A COASTAL EDDY CIRCULATION POSSIBLE EACH NIGHT AND MORNING.” (I have never been able to figure out why the NWS has removed the caps unlock button from their computers.). Anyhoo…we can expect more of the overcast morning skies and probably some light texture at spots exposed to the S winds (mostly in the SD and OC areas.) These winds will sort of fluke their way through the morning and then turn W and come onshore around 10-12 knots for the afternoon.



Overall I think that we will be able to get a few waves tomorrow...personally I am going to aim for a midmorning session and try to capitalize on the tide push and the hopefully still light winds. I think that the smaller wave boards will be the best call but if you are a lighter surfer you will probably be able to ride whatever you want.

Here are the tides…and happy Mother’s Day to all you Moms…you ladies rock!

05:40AM LDT -0.6 L
12:11PM LDT 3.2 H
04:24PM LDT 2.3 L
10:37PM LDT 5.3 H

Waves for the Weekend – some surf, some wind, a little rain

There will be some waves this weekend. Nothing great overall, but it will be surfable if you keep an open mind.

Weather is going to remain a little unstable...there some sort of upper-level disturbance that moves through the area over the next couple of days, potentially setting up some rain on Sunday/Monday but “not effecting the wind that much” according to some forecasts. Usually when this happens it means sort of fluky winds, sometimes onshore, sometimes swirly, sometimes glassy...it just sort of depends on how you catch it and how exposed your surf spot is. I think it is going to be another couple of days of needing to sacrifice your swell exposure for wind protection (which is a crap deal if I ever heard of one)...so keep that in mind.

Swellwise we are going to see the mix of leftover WNW energy, some long-period, but shadowed NW swell, and some new/inconsistent SW swell (205-220 which means it gets shadowing from both the SPAC islands and the nearshore ones). The WNW-NW energy will be bigger on Saturday and the SW energy will be bigger on Sunday.



We are going to continue to see the average surf spots hold waves in the waist to occasionally chest high range. Standout combo spots, mostly through South OC and San Diego, see some chest-chest high+ sets...maybe even a couple of shoulder high waves on the lower tides.

Winds, like I mentioned will be swirly...I would look for lighter more variable wind through the morning and mostly W winds around 10-12 knots through the afternoon. The chance of some patchy fog on Saturday and some light showers on Sunday. I would try and stick with the spots that can pull in some of the swell but still have a little shelter from the potential bump.

Here are the tides...

Saturday
04:59AM LST 0.6 L
10:46AM LST 3.7 H
04:38PM LST 1.0 L
10:57PM LST 5.0 H

Sunday
05:54AM LST 0.6 L
11:41AM LST 3.1 H
05:02PM LST 1.4 L
11:36PM LST 5.0 H

Is it just me or has this winter been particularly sucky? Just going over my notes and looking at the posts I have throw together...and I feel like this winter has sucked so far. Has it sucked for you guys too?

I keep seeing photo slideshows on other websites that try and make it sound like there has been great surf in SoCal for the last couple of months, we just needed to have no jobs and sit at the beach all day long to score a perfect 15 minute (of good lighting) session. I personally have had a couple of fun sessions but they seem to pale compare to winters-past. Am I just getting old and bitter? Do you guys have any thoughts on the state of the winter?