Waves for Wednesday – A few fun ones…before the tide drowns it

Wednesday is looking rideable for most areas and even sort of a Surf Day at the top WNW-NW spots. It won’t be great by any stretch of the imagination…but it won’t be totally flat and the winds look pretty good so at least that is something.

In the water we will have a mix of overlapping WNW swells…a blend of short and long-period energy coming in from around the (285-300) degree range. Small SW swells continue to sneak in through the background. Unfortunately the swell mix doesn’t have a lot of oomph to it and the tide still stays pretty high through most of the day…so plan on sticking to your small wave boards.



Wave heights at the average spots will hold in the ankle-waist high range with a few inconsistent chest high sets showing on the better parts of the tide swing. Top NW facing breaks will be in the waist-chest high range with a few chest high+ sets at times. Shape will continue to be pretty soft, but if you have the right equipment and some shallow sand it is manageable.

Weather will be good again…light offshore to light and variable winds through the morning. Mild-moderate WNW flow around 10-12 knots picks up through late afternoon but won’t totally blow things apart.



Like I said…nothing exciting…just a small, soft WNW mix lapping in under light winds. Bring gear that can handle the mushburgers (and a good attitude) and you will probably have some occasional fun.

Regional Forecasts are back up again…(now with more awesomeness!) 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…

01/06/2010 Wednesday
01:33AM LST 4.8 H
08:01AM LST 1.5 L
01:22PM LST 3.6 H
07:38PM LST 0.9 L

Wednesday's Waves - A good reason to get some chores done

Wednesday is not really going to be a surf day. There will be a few "rideable" (and I use the term loosely) waves at some of breaks that can power through the morning tide but overall I am not expecting much.

We have a couple of leftover swells in the water...some weakening SW energy and touch of NW swell that is holding in the background. Here is the CDIP from this afternoon...it is going to be very similar tomorrow.



Look for most spots to be in the knee-waist high range tomorrow, with nearly flat to shorebreaky shape as the high tide peaks midmorning. Top combo spots, mostly in San Diego, which is doing slightly better on picking up some of the NW energy, we will have some chest high sets...but again expect tide problems at most breaks.

Winds look ok in the morning...mostly light and variable through midmorning. Looks like there is still a chance at some fog...at least according to the NWS models but I would probably get up and check the cams for visibility and see if we get lucky like we did on Tuesday. Afternoon winds come onshore out of the NW around 10-15 knots.

I would probably plan on getting some work done tomorrow...or chores...or just catching up on some sleep...there just isn't much going on surfwise tomorrow. It won't be totally flat but it won't be worth spending much time surfing. That being said it won't be a bad beginner day, the waves will be soft, probably uncrowded, so you might be able to get a little training session in. Bring your small wave gear, longboards will be best, and try and pick a spot that can handle the tide.

03:10AM 1.8' Low
09:16AM 6.0' High
04:28PM -0.2' Low
10:39PM 3.8' High

Surf on Thursday - Whose leftovers are those?

Thursday is looking like a semi-surf day...nothing great but if you are already on vacation it should be worth paddling out.

We will have a mix of SW swell, leftover tropical swell, and some local WNW windswell. Most spots will continue to hold in the waist-chest high range. Standout S facing spots and good combo breaks will have some chest-shoulder high sets. Like I said nothing to get excited about but rideable.

Winds are looking similar to Wednesday but I think they will be a bit lighter in the morning than we have seen over the last couple of days. Expect light and variable winds for most spots in the morning with a couple of patches of light WNW flow around Santa Barbara and Ventura. OC and San Diego should be fairly clean but there may be some slight SW flow for the more exposed areas. All spots will see increasing W winds around 10-12+ knots during the afternoon.

Expect more of the semi-peaky, semi-mushy, shape that has been sort of plaguing our beaches lately. Most of our swell is medium-short period so there just isn’t a ton of push behind it...I think your best bet is to check the spots that traditionally like windswell and have some halfway decent sandbars. I think the combination of the two should give it a little more speed and punch. It looks like the biggest waves will be showing through Orange County and the San Diego combo spots...but I wouldn't plan on driving very far to surf either of these areas. Also we have a long holiday weekend lining up, the crowds at the beach are going to be heavy, I would plan on the crowd starting to build tomorrow no matter what the surf looks like.