Friday, November 16, 2007

Surfing this weekend...lots of waves on tap

We will have plenty of waves on tap over the weekend thanks to a new round of WNW swell that arrives on Saturday. This new one looks very similar to the one we just had. Lots of waves in the 6-8’ face range while standout NW breaks see some 10’+ sets. Swell periods will be in the 12-14 second range and the shape will be on the stacked-up semi-disorganized side.

Surfwise I would continue to look for the cleanest and most playful surf at spots that are a little shadowed from the main push of swell…like areas around Santa Cruz for example. I think that what you lose in wave height you will make up for in shape and rideability.

Saturday looks like it will be the best day of the weekend. Conditions start to fall apart on Sunday but it should stay fun at least through the morning. Looks like there is a chance at some rain late Sunday and into early Monday. Expect plenty of waves and what looks like cleaner conditions as we head into early next week.

Next update will be on Monday (or over the weekend if I get bored)…have a great weekend!

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Surf on Friday...conditions are looking better

The new WNW swell is moving in here this afternoon and will continue to hold into Friday. Look for many spots to continue to see head high to well overhead surf. Standout exposed breaks will go double-overhead on the bigger sets.

Weather looks cleaner in today’s forecast compared to what was being said yesterday so conditions are looking better than I expected. Look for N winds around 5-knots through the morning. Stronger W-NW winds 10-15 knots will develop by the afternoon.

Surfwise I think the best surf will roll through in the morning. Winds will be light, the swell will be peaking, and the tides aren’t horrible. Personally I would look for waves at spots that can filter out a bit of the swell energy…mostly this is a personal preference (I really only need waves to go a little bit overhead)…but I do think the swell will be on the raw side, so having a little bit of the noise bleed off may not be such a bad thing.

If you are looking for the biggest surf then look at the more open beachbreaks…particularly spots that have some deep offshore canyons to help focus the swell. I would probably plan on hitting those early in the morning…just because they will be more exposed to the onshore wind as it develops in the afternoon.

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

Surfing on Thursday - More WNW swell

Just a heads up…when I refer to NorCal in this blog I am really referring to the area from Monterey up to San Francisco. Areas north of SF…if I mention them…will be referred to as the Pacific Northwest.

On to the surf…Thursday is looking pretty surfable…particularly through the morning. Our current WNW swell will actually start off playful in the morning with wave heights holding in the shoulder-head high range at most breaks. A few of the standout exposed beach breaks will have some bigger sets mixing in.

New WNW swell starts filling in around lunchtime and will continue to strengthen as we head into the evening. As this new one starts going we can expect more overhead to well overhead waves at the average breaks…and some bigger waves, nearing double-overhead at the best spots.

Conditions will be mostly clean in the morning with W winds holding around 0-5 knots…W-SW winds around 10-15 knots move in through the afternoon.

Friday the WNW’er will hold but increasing SW winds will start to hamper conditions at many spots.

I think the best surf on Thursday will be at points/reefs that do well on the swell mix and the swell period (which is around 10-12 seconds). The more open beach breaks, while surfable, will be stacked up, disorganized, and a little textured as well. I would probably even keep an eye on the spots that clean up on southerly winds…if we see a wind switch early in the day it may be a good call.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Surfing on Wednesday

The new W-WNW swell that is peaking here on Tuesday will be fading fairly quick on Wednesday. There will still be plenty of overhead surf at the exposed areas while the standouts still see some sets going 2-3’ overhead. Shape will still be sort of stacked up…kind of like windswell but on steroids.

Expect the best shape at breaks that can handle the shorter swell period…like spots that do well when a storm rolls right over top of us. Wind and weather are looking decent…N-NE winds around 5 knots are expected through the morning. W winds around 10-15 knots build in through the afternoon.

Monday, November 12, 2007

Surfing on Tuesday (New WNW swell arrives)

New WNW swell peaks on Tuesday. It will come up pretty fast overnight and will be showing some fairly solid surf for the dawn patrol.

Look for most WNW facing beaches to see fairly stacked up 6-10’ faces while the standout breaks…particularly ones that seem to work better on the medium-period swells…will have some bigger sets.

Conditions are looking decent as well. Winds are supposed to start off light…even light offshore at some spots. Expect a little more WNW bump as onshore winds as increase in the afternoon.

If you like overhead surf then Tuesday will be a good surf day for you. If big waves aren’t really your cup of tea then you may want to head to a more protected spot with breaks that can filter out a lot of the energy. The smaller spots will actually be cleaner and more organized compared to the beefier and stacked up standout breaks.

Saturday, November 10, 2007

Strong NW swell for next week?

Things are starting to get rolling in the North Pacific. High-pressure had been doing a decent job globbing up the storm track for the last several days but now, thanks to an infusion of warm tropical moisture jumping latitudes over by Japan, it looks like the high is going to move out of the way enough to let a couple decent sized storms move into our swell window.

At this point it looks like a strong WNW swell will move into Northern and Central California on the 12th and peak in those areas on the 13-14th. Wave heights will likely be double-overhead+, maybe bigger.

Southern California would see the beginning of that swell showing late on the 13th and likely peak on the 15th. Wave heights south of Point Conception will be quite a bit smaller…more in the waist-head high range for areas exposed to the NW and probably some bigger sets at the standouts.

This storm is about 4-5 days from forming so keep checking back for updates as we get closer.

Here is the WavewatchIII animation from the US Navy…