Surf for Friday – building but with more wind

Friday with have waves but conditions will keep it from being much of a surf day.

Wave heights continue to build on Friday but increasing onshore winds will hamper shape from early-midmorning on.

Swellwise we are going to see a small, peaking SW swell (200-220), building WNW windswell, and building SE swell from Tropical Storm Dolores.


Wave heights are going to be in the waist-chest high range at most exposed spots on Friday. The combo beaches are going to see the most consistency early in the day but the S-SE facing spots will see consistency build through the afternoon as the tropical swell fills in.

The standout S, SW, and top combo spots will be around chest high on the average sets...but will have some shoulder high+ waves coming through by the end of the day (though it will be hard to find a spot clean enough to really surf by then as well).





Winds are going to be problematic again...this variable onshore flow that we have seen the last couple of days will actually strengthen more on Friday. I still expect some semi-clean conditions around sun-up, with building onshore flow by midmorning and continuing through the afternoon. Look for variable-W winds around 4-5 knots through the morning. WNW winds 10-15 knots will push through by the afternoon.

It will be Friday, it will be sunny/warm weatherwise, and there is a little building swell in the water...even though shape won’t be that great it will at least be worth giving it a look if you live close by. I wouldn’t drive very far for the surf... unless you are planning on just hanging out near the beach all day anyways. This onshore bump is getting sort of ridiculous...I am getting ready to sell my kidney for some slightly offshore winds for 18 hours.

Here are the tides...

12:40AM LDT 0.6 L
07:08AM LDT 2.8 H
10:44AM LDT 2.4 L
05:36PM LDT 5.7 H

Friday's Surf - Great...now we have rain to go with our small waves

Friday is not going to be surf day. Our swell will be mostly smaller leftovers and it looks like there is a chance at some rain as well.

We are going to have a mix of small SW energy...there is actually a new SW'er (195-210+) that is slowly starting to fill in but it doesn't really get going until the afternoon...we will also have some building WNW windswell starting to filter in about the same time.

On average we can expect most spots in the knee-waist high range...maybe a few plus sets starting to show at the really exposed combo spots in San Diego. A few of the top breaks may get to about chest high+ during the afternoon. The tide swing is going to honk us up again...so expect very swampy shape as the tide peaks around midmorning.

Winds and weather are going to be a bit funky as well...there is a cold front moving over the Cali coast over the next couple of days (actually it is two fronts...one tomorrow and one Sunday/Monday)...and it is supposed to bring some increasing wind as well as a bit of rain showers. Right now it looks like most of the showers will hit up around SB and Ventura but they are saying it may spread further south as well.

Check out the winds for tomorrow AM...it looks like increasing southerly winds for the Northern Counties (SB, Ventura) and lighter SE winds further south. A lot will depend on how fast the front moves so make sure to use the surf cams and live wind observations to get a good read on things at your local breaks tomorrow.



Really with the lack of swell and less than stellar conditions I am not expecting much surf. San Diego spots might be OK before the high tide but it is still going to be fairly sketchy from a weather/wind standpoint. Personally I am way more fired up that my oldest son (a 3 year old) is going as Optimus Prime for Halloween.

Have a great holiday tomorrow!

Here are the tides

03:53AM 2.4' Low
10:06AM 5.7' High
05:44PM 0.1' Low

Friday’s Surf - Watch the wind

Friday looks like another surf day…at least for part of SoCal.

Forecasts are calling for a new cold-front to start pushing through the outer waters before dawn on Friday and starting to hit land around sun-up. Unfortunately it looks like W-NW winds will be blowing through Santa Barbara, Ventura, and LA counties as we hit the dawn patrol. OC and San Diego will be cleaner…there may be some bump early but not as bad as the northern spots. OC/SD can expect those winds to pick up pretty fast as we move through mid morning.

Here is a shot of the winds at sun-up….12 Zulu time is about 4am our time.


This is just a forecast though so there may be some wriggle-room as to when the winds will actually push into the area. If you were planning on surfing in SB, VEN, LA areas you may want to wait and check the cameras before heading to the beach.

SD and OC areas will likely be more surfable but don’t expect completely glassy conditions either.

Wavewise we will still have some fun waves in the water thanks to a mix of SW and WNW swell. Most spots will hold around the waist-chest high range with some inconsistent bigger…near shoulder high+ sets at the standout combo spots. Again the biggest and most consistent surf will likely be in San Diego but OC, the South Bay, and some spots in Ventura will have some decent sets as well.

Personally I am going to check the cameras in the morning…and if looks like the wind is going to hold off I will go down and check it in person. The tide will be a little high as well so I am going to make sure to look at the better sandbars.