Plenty more surf on the way!

We’re getting some much needed rain but we’re also getting some much needed thumping waves with howling offshore winds!  Not too shabby!  We’re seeing the back end of this last NW groundswell on Wednesday.  Still plenty of juice left for most of the day.  The day will kick off with waves in the HH/OH range for SD and shoulder/HH in OC and a bit smaller for LA.   We’re looking at shoulder/HH by nightfall and into Thurs morning.  Waist/chest high and fairly messy windswell type waves for Friday before picking up slightly with a new NW on Saturday.  Waves in the waist/chest range and should be cleaning up a bit with less windswell in it.  Late Sat and early Sun is when we’ll see the NW pick up a bit more with shoulder/HH waves by late Sun morning and through most of the day.  Swell peaks midday and drops off to chest high for Monday and Tues.  Christmas Eve starts off about the same size but we should see the precursors of the next really good swell.  This looks like it should have some nice powerful long period sets rolling in later in the day on Christmas Eve.  It looks like Santa will be delivering some potentially sizable waves on Christmas Day!  That’s still a ways away so I’ll fill you in on how that looks later this weekend.

As for the weather we’re still looking at more rain as the jet stream continues to throw storms at California and the warm water keeps dragging the moisture rich Pineapple Express up from the south.  This last storm is a bit cooler but is still delivering more of the much needed H2O that California needs.  More scattered heavy showers tonight and thru Wednesday and slight chances of showers for early Wed night.  Clearing Thurs and Fri with the next slight chance of showers Fri night and thru Sat.  Skies clear and warm up Sunday and into the next week. 

The long-term forecast puts a 50% chance of showers for late Christmas Eve and half way thru the holiday.  Air temps in the low 60s thru Sat, high 60s/low 70s thru Wed before that next system comes in and cools things down for Christmas Day.  Winds look to get a little gusty overnight, calm thru the day but blow out of the south and pick up in the evening out of the south.  Light to moderate south and east winds for Thursday with slightly more light/moderate onshore W winds for Friday.  Water temps are incredibly warm still with 64 the norm around San Diego and still low 60s for OC and some high 50s around LA.  This is definitely helping keep the moisture content up in these storms.  As we approach the new moon we’re coming up on the typical Xmas super night tides for the dawn patrollers and more drained out conditions for the midday/early afternoon sessions.

Lots going on in the ocean of ours!  Hope you’re enjoying the waves but being smart about where you surf after the significant rainfall.

Stay wet and stay healthy So Cal!

Mish

 

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with December 17, 2014.

www.saltwatertides.com

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

W   17     High   5:29 AM     5.1   6:46 AM    Rise  2:15 AM      28

    17      Low  12:25 PM     0.7   4:45 PM     Set  1:41 PM

    17     High   6:27 PM     3.3

    17      Low  11:29 PM     1.7

Th  18     High   6:04 AM     5.5   6:46 AM    Rise  3:13 AM      19

    18      Low   1:02 PM     0.0   4:46 PM     Set  2:21 PM

    18     High   7:14 PM     3.5

F   19      Low  12:11 AM     1.7   6:47 AM    Rise  4:12 AM      12

    19     High   6:40 AM     5.9   4:46 PM     Set  3:06 PM

    19      Low   1:39 PM    -0.5

    19     High   7:57 PM     3.8

Sa  20      Low  12:51 AM     1.6   6:47 AM    Rise  5:12 AM      6

    20     High   7:16 AM     6.2   4:46 PM     Set  3:57 PM

    20      Low   2:17 PM    -1.0

    20     High   8:38 PM     3.9

Su  21      Low   1:32 AM     1.6   6:48 AM    Rise  6:12 AM      1

    21     High   7:55 AM     6.4   4:47 PM     Set  4:54 PM

    21      Low   2:55 PM    -1.3

    21     High   9:19 PM     4.0

Winter swell is upon us!

AAAAAAAAAAAAAll aboard!!!  Hop on because the swell train is coming!  By Tuesday morning we’re looking at the beginning of a week of great winter swell.  The tricky part will be the weather and how it plays into the whole picture.  The biggest stuff will be in the southern end in SD with OC and LA picking up swell but a few feet smaller than San Diego especially on the biggest days. 

For Tuesday we’re looking at WNW chest/shoulder high surf around most of So Cal.  The next NW swell fills in Wednesday with some shoulder/HH surf and an overhead set at the better spots.  The swell holds thru the day and is backed up on Thursday by yet another NW swell with a bit more angle so SD will see a bit more swell than OC and LA.  Still plenty of surf in the HH/OH range for Thursday and thru Friday.  The juiciest stuff starts to roll in late Friday with long period swell showing in the evening.  These sets will jump up as the swell (and potentially a decent storm) fills in overnight.  The late Friday waves are looking to be a few feet overhead and by Saturday morning we’ll see WNW waves in the 10-13’ face range in San Diego and a few feet OH in OC and LA.  Lots of west in this big swell so plenty of waves at all breaks with a lot of closeouts at the west facing beaches.  The swell peaks late morning/midday with potentially double overhead sets at the best winter breaks in SD.  By Sunday we’re looking at a backing off swell but still plenty of waves in the OH range for SD and HH+ range for OC/LA.  Monday the swell is back down to the HH range as we pause to take a quick break and rest our arms.  The good news is that there’s another storm that looks like it’s going to sent more WNW our way for that next Tues/Wed.   

Weather is the big question mark in the sky!  It could be a major spoiler later in the week as a very large storm makes landfall on California.  The first part of the week will see some patchy dense fog in the morning and evening with some clearing midday Tuesday and Wednesday.  Fog makes way to clouds for Wed night and Thursday but by Thursday night the rain is forecasted to hit late in the night/early Fri morning and be heavy at times.  The worst news is the winds that are forecasted to hit along with the storm.  That massive swell will most likely be a blown out mess with 20-30mph winds throughout So Cal Thursday night thru Friday.  Rain and winds looks to tapers off late Fri night but I’m thinking that conditions aren’t going to be too ideal Sat AM.  Sat and Sun clear up significantly so hopefully by late Sat and Sun the remnants of that big swell will be ridable.  Air temps will remain in the 60s with high 60s thru Thurs and then low 60s for Fri at that storm moves thru and then warming back into the high 60s for the weekend.  Tides will be on the move for the next few days and then flatten out as we progress into the weekend.  A tide push into the medium high mid-morning drains out to a near zero low by sundown.   Water temps in the mid-60s and I expect that to drop a few degrees with this next storm and big swell.

Have a fantastic week and enjoy all the fun surf before that next storm rolls thru town!

Stay wet but stay healthy for the holidays So Cal!  If you're reading this from Hawaii or headed there soon you're stoked as the Waimea buoy is starting to build with 8' @18 seconds!  Oweeee!

Mish

A few to wet your appetite…Jan. 14, 2010… 

(Photos © Mishfish Photography)

 Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with December 9, 2014.

www.saltwatertides.com
Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Tu   9      Low   3:54 AM     2.2   6:40 AM     Set  9:02 AM      94

     9     High  10:02 AM     5.4   4:43 PM    Rise  8:00 PM

     9      Low   5:08 PM    -0.3

     9     High  11:52 PM     3.8

W   10      Low   4:37 AM     2.5   6:41 AM     Set  9:42 AM      89

    10     High  10:39 AM     5.0   4:43 PM    Rise  8:53 PM

    10      Low   5:48 PM     0.1

Th  11     High  12:42 AM     3.7   6:42 AM     Set 10:18 AM      82

    11      Low   5:29 AM     2.7   4:43 PM    Rise  9:46 PM

    11     High  11:19 AM     4.5

    11      Low   6:30 PM     0.5

F   12     High   1:37 AM     3.7   6:42 AM     Set 10:52 AM      74

    12      Low   6:38 AM     2.8   4:43 PM    Rise 10:39 PM

    12     High  12:08 PM     4.0

    12      Low   7:16 PM     0.9

Sa  13     High   2:34 AM     3.9   6:43 AM     Set 11:25 AM      65

    13      Low   8:08 AM     2.8   4:44 PM    Rise 11:32 PM

    13     High   1:17 PM     3.5

    13      Low   8:07 PM     1.2

Rain and then waves!

Alrighty then!  I hope everyone had a spectacular Thanksgiving holiday, caught a few waves and weren’t stuck in a snowstorm or airport for too long!  We’re looking at a big change in weather this week but also some surf.  Monday will kick off the week with small knee/waist high surf around most of So Cal with rain expected Monday night.  Tuesday isn’t looking much better with small knee high SW windswell moving in with more rain expected all day but light winds.  Tuesday night and into Wed a new swell out of the WNW with some SW windswell moves into So Cal and surf picks up from waist high at dawn (poo patrol after all that rain) to about chest high in SD and waist high in OC/LA. Thursday will see more straight W short period (i.e. consistent) groundswell with HH/OH waves by midday in SD and more waist high with occasional chest high surf farther north.  Swell peaks midday and backs off fairly quickly through the second half of the day and Friday. Friday will see chest high surf in the morning with waist high surf by sunset.  Saturday and Sunday aren’t looking all that promising with knee/waist high surf.  Don’t fret however as it looks like there are more storms brewing and the jet stream is sending them our way.  Most of the storms have a significant amount of west in them which means closed out beach breaks for the west facing beaches and a bit better shape at the reefs and point breaks.

Weather is the big news this week as we prepare for a pretty good sized dose of much needed rain in So Cal.  Mostly clear skies and sunshine on Monday lead to showers Monday night, heavier showers Tuesday and Tuesday night and lighter showers again on Wed, Wed night and potentially Thursday as well.  Luckily this is a relatively warm storm as the low pressure system is dragging the moisture up from the south (“Pineapple Express”) so daytime temps will be in the high 60s still and nighttime temps will be in the low 50s.  Winds will be relatively light to moderate out of the E and then SW as the storm rolls through Tues.  Water temps are still in the mid to high 60s but I expect that to change a bit as the swell and stormwater cool things off.  Tides are super high for the dawn patrol session and drain out all morning to a near zero low tide midday as we approach the full moon on Friday. 

All of this rain is good news for California’s horrendous drought but bad news for water quality.  With the buildup of “junk” in the stormdrains and on the city streets the flow of contaminated water into the lineups will be considerable.  Be mindful of where you surf (near lagoon or river mouths or stormdrain outlets) and give the ocean some time to process the stormwater.  At least the significant amount of swell will help mix it all up but be smart and don’t surf in poo! 

Have a great rainy week with some swell late!

Stay wet (and healthy) So Cal!

Mish

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with December 1, 2014.

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

M    1     High   5:01 AM     5.3   6:34 AM     Set  1:31 AM      65

     1      Low  11:37 AM     0.8   4:43 PM    Rise  1:36 PM

     1     High   5:33 PM     3.9

     1      Low  11:09 PM     1.0

Tu   2     High   5:44 AM     5.8   6:35 AM     Set  2:34 AM      76

     2      Low  12:29 PM     0.1   4:42 PM    Rise  2:16 PM

     2     High   6:36 PM     4.0

     2      Low  11:56 PM     1.2

W    3     High   6:25 AM     6.2   6:35 AM     Set  3:37 AM      84

     3      Low   1:15 PM    -0.5   4:42 PM    Rise  2:58 PM

     3     High   7:30 PM     4.0

Th   4      Low  12:40 AM     1.4   6:36 AM     Set  4:39 AM      91

     4     High   7:03 AM     6.3   4:42 PM    Rise  3:42 PM

     4      Low   1:57 PM    -0.8

     4     High   8:17 PM     4.0

F    5      Low   1:21 AM     1.5   6:37 AM     Set  5:39 AM      96

     5     High   7:40 AM     6.4   4:42 PM    Rise  4:30 PM

     5      Low   2:37 PM    -1.0

     5     High   9:01 PM     4.0

Small but fun waves and offshore!

Happy holiday’s all!  This holiday week we’re going to have some fun surf and gorgeous weather to be thankful for.   Tuesday we’re looking at continuing NW waist/chest high waves through the day and into Wednesday.  Surf drops off through Wednesday and more so for Thanksgiving Thursday.  Waves in the waist high range for SD and knee high for OC/LA.  Friday starts off pretty small but a new NW fills in midday.  San Diego will see waist/chest by the end of the day but OC/LA won’t see much from this swell.  Surf picks up a little more Saturday in SD.  It should be more chest than waist high and the swell peaks midday.  Surf should be fun and a bit more consistent for the second half of the day.  Swell drops off a little Sunday as the swell turns a little more west with waist/chest high waves.  Monday a hiccup of windswell shows up as a prelude to the next storm swell on Tuesday.  Looks like another sizable west swell could develop but won’t show up until late next week.

Right now we’ve got a chilly Santa Ana with high pressure systems sitting east AND west of us.  Winter Santa Anas mean nice warm sunny day time temps in the high 70s along the coast and clear cold nights in the mid to high 40s.  By the weekend we’ll see cooler temps with sunny skies in high 60s.  By Monday we’re looking at low 60s and rain.  Chances of rain starting in the morning with a high chance of rain by midday through all of Tuesday and tapering off by Wed morning.  Winds are forecasted be offshore tonight through Wednesday.  Wind then calm down in the evenings and first thing in the morning and should pick up midday with mild winds.  For the rainy Monday and Tuesday winds get pretty nasty so swell will probably be a big junky mess (and traffic will be too!).  Water temps are trying to hang on in the high to mid 60s.  We’re coming off the new moon so we’re seeing some pretty high mid-morning high tides and drained out tides for the sunset sessions.

Enjoy the sunshine and fun waves for the Thanksgiving week!

Stay wet So Cal!

Mish

 

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with November 25, 2014.

www.saltwatertides.com

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Tu  25      Low   3:48 AM     2.1   6:29 AM    Rise  9:19 AM      6

    25     High  10:07 AM     6.0   4:44 PM     Set  8:11 PM

    25      Low   5:20 PM    -0.6

W   26     High  12:00 AM     3.9   6:30 AM    Rise 10:10 AM      13

    26      Low   4:42 AM     2.4   4:43 PM     Set  9:15 PM

    26     High  10:56 AM     5.5

    26      Low   6:14 PM    -0.3

Th  27     High   1:04 AM     3.9   6:30 AM    Rise 10:56 AM      21

    27      Low   5:54 AM     2.6   4:43 PM     Set 10:20 PM

    27     High  11:57 AM     5.0

    27      Low   7:13 PM     0.0

F   28     High   2:13 AM     4.0   6:31 AM    Rise 11:39 AM      32

    28      Low   7:28 AM     2.6   4:43 PM     Set 11:24 PM

    28     High   1:16 PM     4.4

    28      Low   8:16 PM     0.3

Sa  29     High   3:17 AM     4.4   6:32 AM    Rise 12:19 PM      43

    29      Low   9:08 AM     2.2   4:43 PM

    29     High   2:47 PM     4.0

    29      Low   9:18 PM     0.6

Fun stuff on the way!

Ok, get your hall passes ready because you might just miss this next swell if you blink!  Wednesday is going to be small…very small but by the end of the day we should start to see signs of life out of the WNW from a system that’s dropping in on us for a quick visit.  Thursday morning we should see a significant pick up in wave height with HH surf at most beaches around SD, slightly smaller in OC and LA but much improved from the past few days.  Fairly consistent with HH and some OH sets through the day as the swell peaks midday and starts to drop off fairly quickly in the evening.  Friday looks like chest high waves to start the day and a second WNW pulse in the waist/chest range to close out the work week.  There’s a decent amount of W so the west facing beaches will see some closeouts.

Saturday looks smaller with waist high surf or smaller around So Cal.  Sunday another but smaller WNW moves in and delivers some waist/chest high wind-type swell.  This swell hangs out through Monday with some slightly bigger waves Monday morning.  Tuesday we’ll see a new NW groundswell fill in but the energy looks like it’s aimed a bit more south of us so we’ll only really see waist/chest high surf throughout the day.  Not a lot of big swell makers looming out there right now.  Might get kind of quiet for the rest of the Thanksgiving holiday week and into the weekend.  Stay tuned and I’ll let you know if there’s anything juicy coming up!

Weather is definitely moving towards winter as we have cooler daytime air temps in the high 60s and nighttime temps dropping into the high 40s and low 50s.  Ouch…that makes for a brisk dawn patrol!  Morning and evening marine layer make way for sunshine midday for Wed. Thursday we’ll see more clouds and chances of showers for Thursday night and thru Friday.  Luckily this “storm” won’t bring much in terms of wind so fairly glassy calm days as those swells show up.  Things warm up a bit for the middle of the Thanksgiving week but we’ll still see those chilly nighttime temps.  Water temps have dipped a degree or two and are in the high to mid-60s.  We may see a little dip as that WNW stirs up the cooler water.  We’re starting to see those early morning high tides slow things down again and the negative lows draining out in the late afternoon.  

Looks like some fun surf with pretty nice conditions (minus the 30% chance of showers Friday).  Check the tides and pick your sessions accordingly if you can!  I’m calling the Thursday mid/late morning session to be pretty fun!

Stay wet So Cal!

Mish

Ida at her Secret Spot  5 years ago…Nov. 19, 2009

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with November 18, 2014.

www.saltwatertides.com

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Tu  18     High   6:12 AM     5.2   6:22 AM    Rise  2:37 AM      21

    18      Low  12:44 PM     0.8   4:46 PM     Set  2:32 PM

    18     High   6:44 PM     4.0

W   19      Low  12:13 AM     1.4   6:23 AM    Rise  3:33 AM      14

    19     High   6:40 AM     5.5   4:46 PM     Set  3:08 PM

    19      Low   1:18 PM     0.3

    19     High   7:25 PM     4.0

Th  20      Low  12:45 AM     1.5   6:24 AM    Rise  4:30 AM      7

    20     High   7:09 AM     5.8   4:45 PM     Set  3:47 PM

    20      Low   1:53 PM    -0.2

    20     High   8:05 PM     4.1

F   21      Low   1:18 AM     1.5   6:25 AM    Rise  5:29 AM      3

    21     High   7:39 AM     6.1   4:45 PM     Set  4:30 PM

    21      Low   2:29 PM    -0.6

    21     High   8:46 PM     4.1

Sa  22      Low   1:51 AM     1.6   6:26 AM    Rise  6:29 AM      0

    22     High   8:11 AM     6.3   4:45 PM     Set  5:17 PM

    22      Low   3:07 PM    -0.8

    22     High   9:28 PM     4.0

Get on it!

Quick update...swell's actually on the rise and it's offshore early.  Tide's is on it's way out for the dawn patrol.  Should be fun and more sizable that originally forecasted.  

See ya at the beach!

Stay wet SoCal!

Mish

Small WNW heading our way...

Aloha!  We’re seeing the tail end of a smaller NW swell in the water.  The good news is that there’s a macking swell hitting Hawaii and the season opener for Pipeline, Waimea and Jaws.  The not-so-good news is that the bulk of the energy is going to miss So Cal as it’s aimed more south of us.   Wednesday will see smaller surf in the knee to waist high range with a hint of left over south swell at the better summer spots.  Thursday we should see a bump up in size as the energy from that WNW groundswell shows up with some waist/chest sets by evening.  Friday will see the majority of the swell.  I’m really not expecting much from this…waist/chest with a few stand out shoulder high sets at the best winter breaks later in the day Friday.  Saturday and Sunday the swell backs off and we’ll see waist high surf throughout the weekend.  Size dips Monday and then a bit of windswell kicks in late Monday and thru Tuesday as a little low pressure system moves into town.  We could see some showers from that but if there’s waves we’ll take it!   Things get a bit quiet in both hemispheres for awhile.  The northern hemi has a few small fairly gutless storms moving across the latitudes but I’m not seeing anything significant develop out of them.  Patience.

Weather wise we are definitely moving into late Fall and Winter.  We have cooler air temps in the high 60s for daytime (I love that we call that Fall/Winter temps!) and mid50s at night.  Chances of drizzle tonight, Wed and Thurs night/Fri.  The best chance for showers is actually next Tues and into Wed.  We’ll have a slight warming trend for the weekend before it cools down a little again.  Boy I hope we get some showers because we NEED THAT WATER!  Winds remain light with some light SW winds tomorrow and otherwise calm in the evenings and out of the N/NW by midday.  Looks like we’ll see mostly clouds until the weekend when we’ll see a bit more sunshine.  Tides are fairly flat during the day this week.  Water temps still in the high 60s though so that’s a bonus!

Make the most out of what WNW we get and enjoy the weather!  You could be stuck in Michigan’s deep freeze!

Stay wet So Cal!

Mish

Jeannette Prince sliding on a sunny day at Swamis.

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with November 12, 2014.

www.saltwatertides.com

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

W   12     High   1:41 AM     3.6   6:17 AM     Set 11:07 AM      75

    12      Low   6:06 AM     3.0   4:50 PM    Rise 10:11 PM

    12     High  12:01 PM     4.4

    12      Low   7:31 PM     0.8

Th  13     High   3:03 AM     3.7   6:18 AM     Set 11:45 AM      66

    13      Low   7:41 AM     3.1   4:49 PM    Rise 11:04 PM

    13     High   1:12 PM     4.0

    13      Low   8:34 PM     1.1

F   14     High   4:06 AM     3.9   6:19 AM     Set 12:20 PM      57

    14      Low   9:26 AM     2.9   4:48 PM    Rise 11:57 PM

    14     High   2:39 PM     3.7

    14      Low   9:33 PM     1.2

Sa  15     High   4:47 AM     4.2   6:20 AM     Set 12:53 PM      48

    15      Low  10:41 AM     2.4   4:48 PM

    15     High   4:01 PM     3.6

    15      Low  10:23 PM     1.3

Su  16     High   5:18 AM     4.5   6:21 AM    Rise 12:50 AM      38

    16      Low  11:31 AM     1.9   4:47 PM     Set  1:26 PM

    16     High   5:07 PM     3.7

    16      Low  11:04 PM     1.3