Monday’s Wind – still looking nasty

Well with temps dropping tonight I was hoping that the late afternoon weather models would give us a little better news that it has been…but nope…Monday does not look like a surf day.

In the water we are going to have a mix of building NW windswell and some background SSW-SW swell (190-210)…but local winds are forecast to be pretty ugly. Onshore flow that picked up strong on Sunday will continue through Monday…and probably most of Tuesday as well (it does however clean up around the middle of the week.)



Size for Monday is going to depend a lot on the wind tonight…right now it is looking like a new lump of head high+ NW windswell will be moving in by the morning but if winds get too steep, or don’t maintain the right speed overnight it may not really pull in that much new size. The SW facing breaks will average around chest high with some shoulder high sets…the combo spots, if they were clean would be a bit bigger…but most likely most breaks will be pretty hacked up tomorrow.

Winds look bad for tomorrow…W winds around 15-20 knots will get established by midmorning and will blow through most of the day. Not much eddy circulation expected so look for cold temps and consistent W flow. Orange County and parts of North LA will have lighter winds, around 10+ knots for the morning…but they will fill in pretty fast and I don’t expect much clean up.



I wouldn’t spend a ton of time looking for surf on Monday…the winds don’t leave many places to hide. Basically I would get up and just make sure that the wind is onshore, sometimes the colder land temps can stall out the onshore flow in the morning…but even if they are light don’t count on a whole lot of cleanliness…there is likely to be some bump leftover from the night.

Here are the tides…

05/10/2010 Monday
02:04AM LDT 0.6 L
07:54AM LDT 3.6 H
01:28PM LDT 1.2 L
07:39PM LDT 5.1 H

Waves for the Weekend – Conditions improve and there will still be some swell (but the water temps will still make your ‘nads fall off)

Saturday and Sunday both look like surf days…though the winds look a little better on Sunday (at least they stay cleaner longer than it does on Saturday).

Saturday will see a mix of dropping, but still decently sized NW windswell and some peaking SSW-SW swell (190-220). There will be rideable waves most exposed places…but expect the biggest surf at spots that are well-exposed to both swells (and like the combo mix).



Average breaks can expect surf in the chest-shoulder high range. The standout NW facing spots will be shoulder-head high with some plus sets showing on the morning tide push. The best SW facing spots, particularly the combo breaks, will have more consistent shoulder-head high surf with some overhead sets mixing in on the good tide push.

Weather looks nice on Saturday. Light and variable winds on tap for the morning with some building onshore flow for the afternoon. Look for clean conditions early and then NW winds around 10-14 knots pushing in through the second half of the day. I don’t expect the morning to be super clean everywhere…if your beach is wide open there is a shot that there will be a bit of texture/crumble to things.



The SSW-SW swell continues to hold on Sunday while the local windswell drops off.



Look for the average spots, thanks to the dropping windswell, to slip down into the waist-chest range with a few plus sets sneaking through at the better combo spots. The best SW facing breaks, and the excellent combo spots (mostly in South OC and parts of San Diego), will be more in the chest-head high range with some inconsistent head high+ sets on the tide push.

A little eddy starts to spin up on Sunday…nothing super strong…but possibly centered around Catalina or San Clemente island, which would push light S-SSE winds into San Diego and Southern OC. Spots further north look cleaner…mostly E-ENE through the morning. All breaks see the springy WNW-NW winds push in through the afternoon with the well exposed breaks topping around near 12-15 knots.



While the weekend won’t be outstanding it will be a definite improvement compared to the last couple of days…and there are a few little bonuses that will help us out. The mix of swells leaves less “shadowed” areas, so the crowd can spread out a bit. Winds will be pretty light throughout the day on Sunday…which means that we won’t have to all crush up the dawn patrol. And lastly the tides are pretty manageable for both days…a negative low-tide in the early morning but it fills in pretty quickly and doesn’t quite hit the “swampthing” level. Anyway…I will be out checking my nearby beach breaks both days…I hope you guys get a chance to get in the water as well. Oh and remember that all that wind dropped the ocean temps about 4-5 degrees…so you might want to throw the winter/water gear in the car…just in case you don’t like ice-cream headaches

Here are the tides…have a great weekend!

05/01/2010 Saturday
06:16AM LDT -0.7 L
12:47PM LDT 3.3 H
05:12PM LDT 2.2 L
11:23PM LDT 5.3 H

05/02/2010 Sunday
07:08AM LDT -0.3 L
01:56PM LDT 3.1 H
05:55PM LDT 2.5 L

Monday’s Surf – if the forecast is posted as 1:15am is it still a forecast?

Monday will be rideable but there since I have had to take the dog out to poop like 14 times tonight I have had a chance to watch the wind a bit…and in South HB you can feel the eddy spinning around a little.

At this point I expect the eddy to lighten up but stay consistent throughout the first part of the day…so while it will be rideable, spots that are susceptible to southerly winds will have a little texture…maybe even enough to keep those open spots a bit crumbly.

Swellwise we are going to have a mix of S-SW swells (mostly SW now…205-220) and some background, fading WNW-NW windswell. You can see how the swell is hitting the Oceanside buoy this evening (ok middle of the night).



Sizewise most spots will be in the waist-chest high range with some occasional bigger sets on the lower tides. The tide will keep things pretty swampy so try and bring gear that will let you have a little more fun with softer/mushier surf. The standout areas, mostly South South OC and parts of Northern SD, will be more consistently in the chest high range but wuth some shoulder high sets mixing in on those lower tides again.

Like I said above…look for overcast skies and a bit of southerly SSE flow early on and then more, building S-SW winds around 10-12 knots through midmorning. These wind eventually shift more westerly around 10-14 knots for the afternoon.



Un fortunately we are back in the race between the tide and the wind…but you will have a much better shot at at getting waves at surf at spots with a bit more wind protection and the ablility to push some rideable shape through the lower tides.

Here are the tides…here is a good start to the week!

Here are the tides…

04/26/2010 Monday
02:31AM LDT -0.3 L
08:26AM LDT 4.4 H
02:16PM LDT 0.5 L
08:24PM LDT 5.9 H

Waves for the Weekend – Mix of S-SW and NW swell and some nice weather

Looks like we are going to be able to find some surf on both Saturday and Sunday this weekend. The tide may cause a few issues in the mornings of each day but winds should stay light enough to let us get some still clean waves as it drops.

On Saturday the windswell drops off even more, but the S-SW swell (180-210) fills in more and a new background pulse of NW swell (290-300) work to replace the fading windswell.



Most spots will continue to run around waist-chest high on sets. The well exposed S-SW facing spots will see more waist-shoulder high surf while the standout NW/SW combo spots see some head high+ sets.

Weather looks nice on Saturday. Light and variable winds on tap for the morning with some building onshore flow for the afternoon. Look for clean conditions early and then NW winds around 10-14 knots pushing in through the second half of the day.



Sunday more SW swell (190-215) moves in and mixes with the already showing S-SW swell and background NW swell (290-300). The local windswell may come up a touch at the well exposed spots as well.



Look for more consistent chest high surf at the average spots while the standout S-SW combo breaks see shoulder-head high surf with some rare plus sets showing on the lower tides.

Weather looks good with A little bit of eddy starting to spin up on Sunday…but not enough to junk up the morning. Expect light and variable winds for most areas early on and then NW winds around 10-14 knots by the afternoon. Clearing skies and beach temps in the low 70’s should make for a nice day.



Overall the surf won’t be all that big or consistent, but the weather will be warm, the mornings clean, and once we sneak past the morning swampthing we should be able to get a few fun ones showing at the well exposed spots. You can probably get away riding your good ‘all-round’ board…but you might want something that works well in mushier “high-tide” surf if you are stuck just surfing the dawn patrol…that or find a spot that really likes the high tide.

Here are the tides…have a good one!

04/24/2010 Saturday
12:52AM LDT 1.2 L
06:33AM LDT 4.4 H
01:00PM LDT 0.1 L
07:19PM LDT 5.1 H

04/25/2010 Sunday
01:44AM LDT 0.4 L
07:32AM LDT 4.4 H
01:39PM LDT 0.3 L
07:51PM LDT 5.6 H

Friday’s Surf – Clean morning with some combo swell

Friday will be a surf day.

Look for a mix of fading W-NW windswell (280-300) and some new SSW-SW swell (190-210) jumping into the ongoing mix of swell we have coming out of the Southern Hemi. Conditions will make a considerable clean up as winds lighten and even go light offshore in a few areas for the morning. Expect the water to freeze your ‘nads off at a few spots as well.



With the windswell dropping most of our bigger surf is going to back off fast…but it was an ugly lumpy mess for most areas so having it fade out won’t be the worst thing in the world. Most exposed spots will be in the chest high range while the better S-SW exposed combo spots see some shoulder high sets. The standout NW breaks, again mostly in Southern SD but at the really good NW/SW combo spots as well, will have some head high and even overhead surf through the lower tides earlier in the day.

Look for light and variable winds in the morning…with a few pockets of light offshore flow forming around North LA and North OC…and maybe in some other isolated areas as well. These winds are still a little fragile so don’t expect it too be totally clean all day…the onshore flow will start to drive back in around lunchtime and we can expect some breezy WNW-NW winds around 12-15 knots for most areas by the afternoon.



It looks like the early morning is going to be the best bet windwise…but the tide will be a little high…so we are stuck back in the stupid compromise of clean but swampy surf or textured with a lower tide…you might want to aim for the middle somewhere if your good combo spots like the lower tides.

Here are the tides…

04/23/2010 Friday
05:23AM LDT 4.3 H
12:17PM LDT -0.1 L
06:46PM LDT 4.5 H