Waves for the Weekend – A couple of surf days

Saturday and Sunday both look like surf days.

There won’t be a ton of swell in the water…but the latest weather forecasts have backed off the funky winds considerably compared to what I was looking at yesterday, which is definitely a good thing. Swellwise we will have a mix of WNW-NW swell (285-300) that will be backing off slowly on Saturday while it mixes with a better looking S-SW swell (180-200). Neither swell will be all that big…but they will be good enough to keep playful waves going at the well exposed spots and even a few little peakatolas at the best combo spots.



Saturday we can expect the average exposed spots to see surf in the knee-waist high range with some inconsistent chest high sets sneaking into the better combo breaks. The standout spots, mostly the standout S facing breaks and the excellent combo spots in Orange County and San Diego, will have more consistent waist-chest high surf with some inconsistent shoulder high+ sets sneaking in on the lower tides.



Sunday a new WNW-NW swell (285-300) will move in to reinforce the dropping NPAC swell…it won’t add a ton of size but it will add a little more kick to the surf and help increase the consistency of the bigger sets. The S-SW swell (180-200) will continue to slowly drop through the background…but we can still expect a few small/playful sets at the well exposed spots. Look for most breaks to continue to see the knee-waist high surf while the standout WNW-NW/S-SSW combo spots see some inconsistent chest-shoulder+ sets.

Both days look pretty clean during the mornings. Expect light and variable winds for most spots and a few areas with some very light offshore flow. It looks like we will be fighting a bit of a marine layer…maybe even some patchy fog…so don’t be surprised if visibility isn’t always that good. The winds should stay on the light side through the afternoons on both Saturday and Sunday…but expect the sea-breeze to develop enough to driving some variable 10-12 knot onshore flow into the more exposed spots.

Saturday Morning Winds



Sunday Morning Winds



It was very nice to see the weather/wind forecast improve for the weekend…I hate seeing any sort of swell get the shaft from the weather conditions. While the surf won’t be the most exciting sizewise I still think we can get out and have some fun. Light winds, decent morning tides, and some waist-shoulder high sets, are all making a pretty good argument on getting out of bed early and braving the cold sand sprint. I think that the beach breaks are going to have the best shape, especially at the top combo spots in OC/SD…but a few of the S facing points are going to be pretty good too. Personally I am going to hunt down a quiet little peak/sandbar close to home…and if the winds stay good, see how many grumpy messages my wife will leave on my phone while I am in the water (my personal best is 5).

Make sure to check out the regional forecasts for the details for each county.

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…Have a great weekend gang!

03/20/2010 Saturday
07:01AM LDT 0.4 L
01:05PM LDT 2.7 H
05:38PM LDT 1.9 L

03/21/2010 Sunday
12:19AM LDT 4.9 H
08:14AM LDT 0.5 L
02:56PM LDT 2.4 H
05:57PM LDT 2.3 L

Waves for Wednesday – Slow drop…but still a few fun ones

Wednesday will have some rideable waves but the race between the dropping high tide and the building onshore wind may keep most spots from getting very good.

WNW-NW swell (280-300) will be slowly fading through the day on Wednesday…dropping pretty quickly for spots up through Ventura and Santa Barbara while lingering a little longer down toward San Diego. There will be a slight bump up in S-SSW swell (180-210) that fills in throughout the day…but overall expect most of our waves coming out of the WNW.



Average W-WNW facing spots will be in the chest-shoulder high range with some rare head high sets at spots that like the higher tides. The standout WNW-NW breaks, mostly through the South Bay, South San Diego, and parts of Ventura, will have more consistent shoulder-head high set waves with a few overhead waves still mixing in. Thanks to the morning high tide the shape will be a bit soft and the bigger sets a bit less consistent…there should be some improvement as the tide drops through midmorning.

The forecast models are backing off the winds for Wednesday morning…so, if this latest cold front moves around like it is supposed to, we will likely see some clean conditions for the morning. Look for light and variable winds early on...then sort of moderate onshore bump picking up through midmorning and into the afternoon, eventually topping out 10-15 knots out of the NW.



It is nice to see the onshore bump that was forecast for Wednesday slipping out of the wind model…it lets us get a little more of this WNW swell before it backs down too far. Even though the winds look lighter I am not expecting “great” surf on Wednesday...it will probably just be one of those serviceable swells, rideable but not super exciting. Thanks to that stupid morning high tide you are going to want to stick with spots that can handle the extra water…either that or wait and roll the dice that the tide drops faster than the wind can come onshore.


I think these are loaded...

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…

01/27/2010 Wednesday
06:07AM LST 6.0 H
01:42PM LST -1.2 L
08:07PM LST 3.6 H