Surf for Friday – Cleaner leftovers

Friday will be rideable but it will be fairly small...overall it will be a marginal surf day…but with the right equipment (and the right attitude) there will be a few rideable little peaks out there.

Our surf will be a mix of fading WNW-NW energy (290-300) and some inconsistent, background SW swell (200-220). The WNW-NW energy will fade pretty steadily throughout the day.



Look for most spots to average around knee high with some inconsistent waist high sets. The better combo breaks with some decent SW exposure will be in the knee-waist high+ range with some inconsistent chest high sets on the lower tides. Standout NW facing breaks and the excellent NW/SW combo breaks will be in the waist-chest high range with some inconsistent shoulder high sets. The NW energy is getting to be pretty short-period…so expect sort of gutless, windswelly shape…which may be ok at the beach breaks but will lack much power at most points/reefs.

Winds will be light and variable to light-offshore in the morning…with a little touch of ESE flow through parts of San Diego. Look for W winds around 10-knots to set up through the afternoon. A new storm-front is forecast to move through late Friday night (well after dark) and set up some more rain/stormy conditions for Saturday.



Not much going on Friday…just small waves, breaking close to shore for most spots. I think that you might be able to have some fun with your small wave gear. Most breaks will probably be the most fun with some sort of longboard…but a few of the standout NW facing breaks might have enough size to stick with the fishy shapes or a good small-wave shortboard. I would try and get on it early since the tide is good and the conditions will be the cleanest…just don’t expect a lot from it and you won’t be disappointed.

Here are the tides…

03/05/2010 Friday
07:00AM LST 0.3 L
01:03PM LST 2.9 H
05:50PM LST 1.8 L

Surf for Friday – Small with building S winds

Friday doesn’t look like much of a surf day.

The morning looks pretty small…just some leftover WNW-NW energy and touch of smaller SW energy (200-220) that holds in the background. There will be some new WSW-NW energy, mostly stormy/windswell, that begins arriving in Santa Barbara and Ventura late in the afternoon but it won’t show to much new surf before sundown.



Look for most spots to see surf in the knee high range with some waist high sets during the tide push. The better WNW/SW combo spots will be a touch bigger…more knee-waist high with some inconsistent chest high sections. It will be the most consistent through the morning dawn patrol but the high tide will start to kill it pretty fast.

Look for S-winds around 5-8 knots spinning up in the morning…sort of S-SW around Santa Barbara and Ventura and more S-SE’erly in LA, OC, and SD. These winds will increase and turn more SW’erly for all areas throughout the day…hitting 10-20 knots by the afternoon/evening. Look for rain showers to move in throughout the day…getting strongest overnight into Saturday.



There isn’t really enough swell for it to be very rideable tomorrow…add in the S wind texture and the building tide and it looks like the wheels will start to come off by midmorning/midday. If you need to surf I would bust out the log and try and find a spot during the dawn patrol that has some protection from the South winds…personally I am going to be surfing my pillow for a little extra shuteye.

Make sure to check out the regional forecasts for the details for each county…you aren’t going to learn anything new but it sure makes me feel good to see traffic on those pages.

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…

02/19/2010 Friday
06:18AM LST 1.2 L
11:50AM LST 2.9 H
05:16PM LST 1.5 L

Funky Friday – Morning Leftovers followed by some new storm action (with kung-fu grip)

Friday is not looking like a surf day for most areas…we have a new storm moving into the area bringing S wind and rain.



Don’t totally count out the surf for every spot though…a lot is going to depend on how the storm behaves…and if things go well we might see some pockets of cleanliness at the protected breaks.

Swellwise we are going to start off with mostly leftovers…so we can expect rideable but mostly small surf on tap for the morning, with the biggest waves at the top NW facing breaks. A new, stormy W-WNW swell (260-300) will start to arrive through the day, showing mostly in Santa Barbara and Ventura during actual daylight, and then filling in the more southern regions after dark.



Average WNW facing breaks will be in the knee-waist high range while the standout NW exposed spots will have some inconsistent chest-shoulder high sets still sneaking in. Ventura and Santa Barbara will see size start to build up late in the day but I don’t think it will get all that big before sunset…maybe a few more shoulder-head high sets at the standout breaks before nightfall.

Winds and weather are looking a bit stormy with S-SE winds 10-15 knots showing across the county for the morning and then gusts hitting up around 20-25+ knots for the afternoon. Showers are expected to push south through the day as well so expect things to get a little damp later in the day.



Like I said above conditions are going to be completely tied to the cold-front…if it lags, or comes in faster than the current forecast then surf shape will change. So, as always, I recommend keeping a “weather eye” on conditions, particularly through the afternoon as the new swell starts to filter in…local winds might do something positive and open a window of fun. (Don’t hold your breath though).

Make sure to check the regional forecasts to see how the swell mix affects the different stretches of coastline.

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…

02/05/2010 Friday
01:29AM LST 4.9 H
09:07AM LST 0.8 L
03:06PM LST 2.6 H
07:30PM LST 2.0 L

Small Waves for Wednesday – Yep that pretty much sums it up

Wednesday won’t be much of a surf day.

We will continue to see a weak mix of small SW swell (200-220) and minor WNW windswell.



Wave heights are going to be in the ankle-knee high range at most of the average S facing spots. The standout S-SW facing breaks, mostly through South Orange County and North San Diego, will be more consistently in the knee-waist high range.

Winds look ok…mostly light and variable in the morning with just a couple of pockets of texture here and there. WNW winds around 10-12 knots will move through in the afternoon.



With the meager swell in the water there won’t be much surfing going on tomorrow. Sitting and waiting for knee high sets, yes…actual wave riding, no. Conditions will be good and the tide is improving…there just isn’t enough energy in the water. If you have to surf, (and really you should save up your surf-time/hall-pass for next week), but if you have to go out, then bring your big board and a lot of patience…you’ll have more fun.

Here are the tides

03:19AM LDT -1.2 L
09:32AM LDT 4.6 H
02:57PM LDT 1.2 L
08:57PM LDT 6.7 H