Surf for Friday – New NW swell (and a little SW'er) move in

Friday is looking more like a surf day…but the combo of high morning tide and a steeply angled NW swell that is showing more toward the afternoon will keep it from being too much fun.

In the morning most spots are going to see a leftover mix of small NW energy and some smaller SW swell…neither of which will do a good job breaking through the 6’+ high tide. By midmorning a new mix of NW swell (290-300) and new SW swell (200-220) will start to fill in as the tide drops out.



Most spots will start in the knee-waist high range early tomorrow with a few chest high sets showing at the well exposed NW spots. The top NW breaks, mostly in the San Diego and Ventura, will have some more waist-chest high waves with a few chest-shoulder high waves at the breaks that can handle the higher tide.

By the afternoon as the new swell mix fills in the exposed breaks will be more in the waist-chest high range with a few plus sets coming through on the lower tides. Top spots will be more consistent in the waist-shoulder high ranges again with some bigger shoulder-head high peaks setting up at the best NW exposed combo breaks.

Winds look good in the morning…mostly N-NE throughout Socal…so lots of spots will be light/variable to light offshore during the dawn patrol. Mild to moderate onshore flow sets up by the afternoon but holds around 10-14 knots for most areas.



Overall not a super exciting surf day…but the building swell and the decent conditions should help us get into a few more waves as the tide starts to drop toward the middle of the day. I would probably still plan on bringing your smaller wave gear, just so you can power through the mushers that filter through midmorning and the inbetween waves that will be showing between the inconsistent sets.

Here are the tides…

12/04/2009 Friday
03:16AM LST 2.3 L
09:28AM LST 6.5 H
05:06PM LST -1.2 L
11:43PM LST 3.7 H

Surf for Thursday – Slow start, but new SSW’er starts filling in

Thursday will be a surf day...but don’t expect big waves early in the morning.

Swellwise we can expect a mix of leftover SW swells and local NW-WNW windswell in the morning. There will be some long-period energy from the new Southern Hemi swell showing in the background but the forerunners won’t add a ton of size to the dawn patrol. In fact tomorrow morning will look a lot like this...



The SSW swell (180-200) will build and fill in throughout the day and will have some overhead sets showing at top S-facing spots by sundown.

Wave heights for the morning will average around waist-chest high. The standout S facing spots will have some shoulder high sets, particularly as the morning low tide starts to fill in and new energy builds in through the background.

By the afternoon/evening we can expect waist-shoulder high+ for most S exposed spots. Standout S facing breaks, like those in Orange County, North LA, and Northern San Diego, will be consistently in the shoulder-head high range with overhead sets mixing in at times.



As you can see the winds look pretty good through the morning, mostly light and variable, with a few really clean areas (like the South Bay, North LA, and Southern Ventura). San Diego and OC may have a little southerly flow...but I am expecting mostly clean conditions in those areas as well. Look for moderate WNW winds around 10-14 knots by the afternoon, but with semi-surfable shape in areas with high cliffs, structures, or kelp (something to knock down the wind.)

I think that tomorrow morning is going to start off a bit slow, even drained out and small in a few of the more protected areas. I would probably try and get a later start to your surf, let the tide come up, and the SSW swell to start building. I think that all types of spots, beach breaks, points, reefs, will all be about the same in the morning...but as the swell and the tide push in...the points and reefs will be the call (as they will likely be throughout the SSW swell as it peaks).

It is summer, so expect crowds, particularly since this swell has been in the forecast for a while now and is getting pretty hyped up. I saw an article in the LA Times today, which is never a good sign for the crowds. Cross your fingers that you might be able to find a few uncrowded corners out there over the next couple of days.

Here are the tides for Thursday...

05:04AM LDT -1.3 L
11:21AM LDT 4.6 H
04:44PM LDT 1.3 L
10:41PM LDT 6.3 H