Thursday’s Surf – Picking up…new WNW swell fills in throughout the day

Thursday will be a surf day…BUT…(and it is a big but)…things will start off pretty slow in the morning since the swell doesn’t really start to add much new size until the afternoon.

In the morning we will see a mix of leftover WNW medium period energy, a slight bump in short-period WNW swell, and some micro-lines from the S-SW.

Most spots will continue to hold in the ankle-knee high range with a few waist high waves sneaking through at the better exposed WNW-NW breaks. Spots up around Santa Barbara and Ventura will have a few bigger sets starting to slip in through the morning but don’t expect a really significant increase for the dawn patrol.

The scene at 7am


By the evening new, long-period W-WNW swell (275-300) will be filling in with the initial energy in the 19-20 second period range. Like most swells with these sorts of periods and swell-angles it will be a little fluky, wrapping hard into one spot and skipping past others, so you are going to want to make sure to pick the right spot that can pull in the new energy. Ventura will see a decent bump in size before dark…likely some overhead sets at the best breaks. Spots further south will be around head high.

The scene at 7pm


Winds look good on Thursday…light offshore for the morning and then sort of variable through the middle of the day. Look for a little WNW bump to pick up around SB and Ventura in the afternoon…while the rest of the region sees a mild onshore flow below 10 knots. Looks like there is a decent shot at getting a few waves as the swell fills in during the evening session.



Like I said I would take it easy in the morning, sleep in, do chores…basically put about until the swell starts to show a few lines. With winds being sort of cooperative I think that it with be worth waiting. If you have to pick between the next couple of days for some reason… I would wait out Thursday and plan on surfing Friday (lots more energy showing by the end of the week).

There is a bit of a difference in how the swell will be hitting each of our Counties tomorrow. The Regional Forecasts have some of those details (as well as sharks with laser beams!) Give ‘em a check when you get a chance.

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…

01/07/2010 Thursday
02:30AM LST 4.9 H
09:38AM LST 1.2 L
03:06PM LST 3.0 H
08:33PM LST 1.5 L

Surf for Tuesday – poo patrol with more wind

Surf for Tuesday – Great more wind

Tuesday is not looking like much of a surf day…onshore winds and poor water quality will definitely be working to hamper conditions.

Swellwise things pick up a bit more as the combo of W-WNW storm/wind swell (270-300) picks up a bit and mixes with the neverending (yet never helpful) touch of SW energy.



Most spots will be in the chest high range on Tuesday…with some chest-shoulder high surf showing at the better W-WNW facing breaks. Top NW facing spots, like those in San Diego, will be in the chest-head high range fairly consistently with some bigger sets mixing in at times.

Winds just suck on Tuesday…the storm front that brought the rain on Monday will be moving out but the NW winds that follow these types of storms will be right on its tail. Look for NW winds 10-15+ knots on tap for the morning…strongest in the Northerly Counties. Look for these winds to hold through midday and then slowly taper off toward the evening.



With the winds and water (poo) quality on tap for Tuesday I would probably give the building wave heights a pass. I might give the beach a quick check if the winds look like they have done something unexpected overnight, and just to see how things weathered the rain, but it would have to look really, really, good to get me into the lineup and I don’t see that happening tomorrow.

Here are the tides…

12/08/2009 Tuesday
02:39AM LST 4.4 H
08:27AM LST 2.3 L
01:45PM LST 4.1 H
08:39PM LST 0.5 L