Our W-WNW swell (280-300+) moved into exposed areas on Sunday…I got reports that Santa Barbara was pretty fun and I saw some good looking sets rolling into Ventura. The winds didn’t hold but it is nice to see some swell in those areas.
The W swell will continue to hold as we move into Monday (it should actually be peaking in OC and SD in the morning but the swell angle is starting to shift a little NW slow look for fewer spots to be exposed to the bigger surf). There will be some background SW swell (190-210) slowly fading out as well. Check out the CDIP model from this afternoon.
I still expect surf in the waist-shoulder high range for most W facing beaches on Monday. The better exposed areas will have some head high sets…and the top spots, mostly in San Diego, the South Bay, and Ventura, will have some overhead sets.
The winds look like they are going to be a bitch in the afternoon…but we may have a small window of semi-clean conditions through the morning, particularly at the spots that have a little protection from W-NW breezes. Look for winds to start below 10 knots out of the W in the morning…then increase for all areas…eventually topping out 13-15+ knots out of the WNW by the afternoon. Here is a shot of the COAMPS forecast for the morning.
With the rain that came through on Sunday I am not really stoked on the water quality. I haven’t looked at rainfall totals but it seemed like there was enough to get the storm drains flowing in a few spots. The first rains of the year are always the nastiest…it seems like you get all the crap, trash, shopping carts, dead bodies, ect ect pushing out during the first rain. Usually the health department recommends waiting at least 72 hours after a significant rain.
Anyway…if you have to surf I would try and check the W facing spots but areas that offer a little protection from the wind. I would also try and get on it early before the tide fills in and the winds come onshore. If you are west swell junky then it might be worth a dawn patrol but personally I am going to wait for enough light for a cam check before I commit to driving down to look at it in person.
Here are the tides for Monday…
10:47AM 4.7’ High
07:30PM 0.8’ Low
