Still more swell before it quiets a little.

So, are we happy now?  WHAT A WEEKEND OF SURF!  Holy offshore and perfect Batman!  I hope you all got some great waves and didn’t mind that you had to share them with a few friends.  We’ve got more surf on tap for Tuesday but conditions have certainly deteriorated compared to Sat and Sun.  Either way we’ll see a quick little NW adding energy to give the remaining swell a little boost.  Still some shoulder/HH waves around SD County and a waist/chest for OC/LA.  Waves thru the day as things start to clean up (except the water quality…YUCKO!).  Wednesday we’re still looking at chest/shoulder high waves to start the day and backing off to waist/chest in SD by the end of the day.  Thursday sees waist/chest thru the day. Friday is the smallest day of the week with another little southern storm front moving in.  Look for funky windswell in the waist high range that continues on into Saturday.  There’s another smaller NW that should still in late Sat and into Sun.  Not a huge improvement in size but a little more energy and waves in the waist/chest high range through the day with some slightly bigger sets at the better winter spots.  There’s a bit more angle on this one so expect OC and LA to see less of this swell.  Monday things back off as the system heads out of town and things clean up but wave size drops off to waist high.  The North Pacific is full of surprises this winter.  Some interesting energy spinning around on the west side.  Will keep an eye on it and let you know.

The weather couldn’t have been more perfect for that last swell. That’s all a distant memory now as we deal with showers across SD County tonight. There was enough rainfall to create that every so popular runoff we love to hate.  Be smart and keep your distance from stormdrains, river, bay and lagoon mouths for at least 72 hours.  As the system swings over us tonight we can expect clearing and sunny Tuesday with air temps back up into the upper 60s for a few days and then it’ll cool down as that next system rolls into town late Thurs and into Friday.  Winds will remain mostly E/SE for the next few days.  Slight chance of rain at this point from the next southerly system Friday but clearing for the weekend with partial sunshine Sat and clear skies Sunday.  Water temps seemed to have dropped a few degrees and are sitting in the low 60s/high 50s.  We’re approaching more extreme tides through the week.  We’re looking at a low late morning tide with a medium late afternoon/early evening high tide.  The low goes negative by midday Thursday. 

Be wary of water quality. We’ve had some spikes of bacteria at some of the local beaches and with the stormwater runoff it’s definitely advisable to be smart where and when you surf.

Otherwise…stay wet So Cal!

Mish

Last daylight set yesterday January 25, 2015.  

 I stopped counting at 15 waves in this set…not too shabby.

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with January 27, 2015.

www.saltewatertides.com

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Tu  27     High   2:51 AM     4.9   6:47 AM     Set 12:24 AM      46

    27      Low   9:57 AM     1.0   5:17 PM    Rise 11:40 AM

    27     High   3:59 PM     2.9

    27      Low   9:07 PM     1.6

W   28     High   4:00 AM     5.0   6:47 AM     Set  1:25 AM      57

    28      Low  11:21 AM     0.5   5:18 PM    Rise 12:24 PM

    28     High   5:44 PM     3.0

    28      Low  10:24 PM     1.9

Th  29     High   5:03 AM     5.2   6:46 AM     Set  2:22 AM      67

    29      Low  12:22 PM     0.0   5:18 PM    Rise  1:11 PM

    29     High   6:52 PM     3.3

    29      Low  11:31 PM     1.9

F   30     High   5:56 AM     5.3   6:45 AM     Set  3:17 AM      76

    30      Low   1:07 PM    -0.4   5:19 PM    Rise  2:00 PM

    30     High   7:37 PM     3.6

Sa  31      Low  12:24 AM     1.8   6:45 AM     Set  4:08 AM      84

    31     High   6:41 AM     5.5   5:20 PM    Rise  2:52 PM

    31      Low   1:44 PM    -0.7

    31     High   8:12 PM     3.8

Quick update on the upcoming swell...

Quick update on that fun groundswell headed our way.  It’s bombin’ over in Hawaii and that swell should start to show midday Friday. Tomorrow (Thursday) will be the smallest day all week with waist/chest high surf out of the NW. Southern spots will pickup a bit more surf with the northerly angle.  Friday starts out a little slow but things start to pickup in the second half of the day as the long period swells start to show and the size on those sets start to jump up.  Look for inconsistent west chest/shoulder high waves by nightfall. Saturday morning will be the call as the low swings high and pushes swell with it.  Size maxes out midday/early afternoon with some OH+ sets especially at the best spots.  Lots of west so most west facing spots will be closed out.  South and north facing breaks will hold it better.  Even as the swell backs down overnight we should still see fairly consistent HH waves for Sunday morning and through most of the day. Most new NW on the way…will update you on those in a few days but it looks promising for a nice stretch of surf for the upcoming week.

Quick update on the weather too!  Looks like a mild winter Santa Ana is setting up with NE winds tonight and E/SE winds blowing through Friday with some pretty gusty (OFFSHORE) winds.  (Think…BARRELS!!!)  Expect sunshine and clear skies.  Air temps in the high 60s/low 70s for the rest of the week and thru the weekend.  Pretty chilly nights in the mid to low 40s.  We’re experiencing King Tides (meaning the most extreme tides of the year) so that could decide whether you’re getting a big mushy slow take off or a bottoming out barreling thumper during your session.  High tide in the mid-morning leads to a drained out super low tide in the late afternoon for the evening session.  I see some really good windows for great fun surf when that swell shows up.

Have a great time and stay wet So Cal!

Mish

BIG day 5 years ago! 

Andrew Chang at Swamis 

January 24, 2010

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with January 22, 2015.

www.saltwatertides.com

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Th  22      Low   3:44 AM     1.0   6:50 AM    Rise  8:15 AM      2

    22     High   9:56 AM     6.1   5:12 PM     Set  8:05 PM

    22      Low   4:39 PM    -1.3

    22     High  11:06 PM     4.7

F   23      Low   4:38 AM     1.1   6:49 AM    Rise  8:57 AM      7

    23     High  10:45 AM     5.5   5:13 PM     Set  9:13 PM

    23      Low   5:22 PM    -0.8

    23     High  11:53 PM     4.8

Sa  24      Low   5:38 AM     1.2   6:49 AM    Rise  9:37 AM      15

    24     High  11:38 AM     4.8   5:14 PM     Set 10:18 PM

    24      Low   6:06 PM    -0.1

Su  25     High  12:45 AM     4.8   6:48 AM    Rise 10:17 AM      24

    25      Low   6:50 AM     1.3   5:15 PM     Set 11:22 PM

    25     High  12:43 PM     4.0

    25      Low   6:56 PM     0.6

M   26     High   1:44 AM     4.8   6:48 AM    Rise 10:58 AM      35

    26      Low   8:18 AM     1.3   5:16 PM

    26     High   2:09 PM     3.3

    26      Low   7:55 PM     1.2

Fun surf and sunshine ahead!

YES!  Forget that quiet spell…Mother Nature was just taking her time brewing up some good swell.  Some fun surf the past few days and more on the way!  Sunday looks like another fun day with some WNW along the So Cal coast.  Surf remains in the waist/chest range with some stand out shoulder high waves on the sets.  That swell peaks midday and starts to taper off through the afternoon.  Monday morning thru midday will see the tail end of that swell with some new NW filling in later in the afternoon/evening.  Surf picks up for Tuesday with shoulder/HH surf throughout most of town at the west and north facing beaches.  This swell has some nice energy to it with slightly OH sets not uncommon through the midday and latter part of the day.  Still some HH waves for Wed as the swell fades pretty quickly through the day ending with chest high surf by sundown. 

Thursday will see more fading surf starting in the waist/chest range early and waist high by evening.  Friday starts off on the small side but there’s a doozy of a storm that looks like it’s going to hurl some nice energy right to our front door.  I’m calling some very long period swell later in the day Fri with otherwise waist/chest high surf.  Sat will still see that long period swell but it’ll pick up a little through the day.  Sun and into Monday is when we should really see things pick up quickly with well OH surf for at least a few days.  The westerly angle will probably close out most of the west facing beaches but N and S breaks should be good.  OC and LA will get some shadowing from the islands but with so much energy they should still get some good winter waves.  Going to keep my eyes glued to this one and give you more details midweek.  Oooooh, it should be a good one! 

The best news to come along with this swell is that there’s just gorgeous sunshine and warm temps forecasted for the next week.  We’ll see mostly sunny skies by midday every day with some dense fog in the mornings and evenings.  Air temps in the high-60s to low 70s all week along the coast.  Next weekend and into next week looks REALLY sunny and warm (mid –high 70s).  No precipitation in sight for the next 10 days.  We’ll also see pretty calm winds for the week with light N or W winds if at all.  And water temps…HELLOOOOO?  Low 60s along all of So Cal?  HUN?  Not complaining here!  Tides will be swinging big time with the new moon coming up on Tuesday.  Look for very full early morning tides that are draining out all morning to a mid-afternoon super low tide. 

Looks like a nice week of fun surf with some bonus swell on tap for late next weekend and booming into that next week!  Winter swell on the way!

Stay wet So Cal!

Mish

 

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with January 18, 2015.

www.saltwatertides.com

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Su  18      Low  12:37 AM     1.6   6:51 AM    Rise  4:52 AM      9

    18     High   7:00 AM     6.2   5:08 PM     Set  3:36 PM

    18      Low   2:00 PM    -1.2

    18     High   8:23 PM     4.0

M   19      Low   1:23 AM     1.5   6:51 AM    Rise  5:48 AM      4

    19     High   7:43 AM     6.4   5:09 PM     Set  4:40 PM

    19      Low   2:39 PM    -1.6

    19     High   9:02 PM     4.2

Tu  20      Low   2:09 AM     1.2   6:50 AM    Rise  6:41 AM      0

    20     High   8:26 AM     6.6   5:10 PM     Set  5:48 PM

    20      Low   3:18 PM    -1.6

    20     High   9:41 PM     4.4

W   21      Low   2:55 AM     1.1   6:50 AM    Rise  7:30 AM      0

    21     High   9:10 AM     6.4   5:11 PM     Set  6:57 PM

    21      Low   3:58 PM    -1.6

    21     High  10:23 PM     4.6

Th  22      Low   3:44 AM     1.0   6:50 AM    Rise  8:15 AM      2

    22     High   9:56 AM     6.1   5:12 PM     Set  8:05 PM

    22      Low   4:39 PM    -1.3

    22     High  11:06 PM     4.7

A week of surf ahead!

Some fun surf making the round along the coast this weekend!  WNW waves from the waist to shoulder high range around San Diego County.  Definitely smaller up north but still better than we’ve had the past few weeks.  Look for more fun waves first thing Sunday morning as the swell tapers off through the day.  More chest/shoulder high waves with waist high by the evening.  Decreasing swell for Monday in the waist to knee high range.  A new little WNW for Tuesday will keep waves in the waist high range for the day and into Wed.  The angle on that swell tapers off pretty quickly so the size will be better the farther south you go.  Thursday we’ll see a nice new NW fill in through the day.  Look for waist high long period groundswell to show by mid-morning as the swell builds to about chest/shoulder high by evening.  Friday morning should see some shoulder/HH waves as the swell peaks.  Size sticks around through most of the day but tapers off overnight.  Saturday will still see chest/shoulder high waves with a bit more angle on the swell so the winter spots will definitely fair better through the day.  The good news is that mid-Saturday we’ll see yet another NW groundswell fill in.  This storm is looking promising for HH and perhaps some slightly OH waves at the best winter breaks.  Swell should stick around through Sunday and taper off for the start of the work week.  We have a little quiet spell after that.

We’re looking at a little precipitation overnight and through tomorrow morning as the pineapple express delivers a little drizzle over So Cal.   Things clear up Monday with sunshine and warming air temps all week.  Mid-60s Sunday and Mon with high 60s and low 70s through the rest of the week.  Chilly nights in the high to mid 40s along the coast.  Good news is that we’re just looking at east winds (aka offshore for most of SoCal) for Sunday with SE winds Sunday night and NW breeze returning Monday as we get back into our regular wind patters (calm in the AM and NW breeze by midday).  Tides’ aren’t moveing much during the day as we’re between moon phases.  Early morning medium low bumps up a hair to the midday/early afternoon high.  Water temps are still in the low 60s with some cooler high 50s here and there…really not bad at all for Jan! 

Looks like a nice combo of surf and sunshine coming up this week!  Enjoy your winter So Cal and don’t forget to stay wet!

Mish

Some of the best always manage to go unridden!

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with January 11, 2015.

www.salterwatertides.com

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

Su  11     High   1:13 AM     3.9   6:52 AM     Set 10:29 AM      73

    11      Low   6:57 AM     2.3   5:02 PM    Rise 11:08 PM

    11     High  12:18 PM     3.5

    11      Low   6:53 PM     1.2

M   12     High   2:05 AM     4.0   6:52 AM     Set 11:02 AM      64

    12      Low   8:25 AM     2.2   5:03 PM

    12     High   1:34 PM     2.9

    12      Low   7:40 PM     1.6

Tu  13     High   3:02 AM     4.1   6:52 AM    Rise 12:02 AM      55

    13      Low   9:59 AM     1.8   5:04 PM     Set 11:37 AM

    13     High   3:23 PM     2.7

    13      Low   8:42 PM     1.8

W   14     High   3:57 AM     4.4   6:52 AM    Rise 12:58 AM      45

    14      Low  11:11 AM     1.3   5:04 PM     Set 12:15 PM

    14     High   5:03 PM     2.8

    14      Low   9:51 PM     1.9

Th  15     High   4:48 AM     4.8   6:52 AM    Rise  1:55 AM      36

    15      Low  12:01 PM     0.6   5:05 PM     Set 12:56 PM

    15     High   6:13 PM     3.0

    15      Low  10:54 PM     1.9

First NW of 2015 on it's way!

Aloha and Happy New Year!  Took a little hiatus but it looks like there wasn’t much in terms of swell since Christmas.  The story isn’t going to change too much for a few days.  The good news is that there is some new NW groundswell on the way!  For Monday and Tuesday we’re looking at more knee high surf out of the west.  Tuesday thru Thursday will have some background south…yes, south!  We won’t really see much from that…an occasional waist high wave at south facing beaches perhaps?  Not expecting much out of that swell.  The next swell looks to fill in Friday afternoon out of the NW.  Waves increase to waist high that afternoon with Saturday bringing chest/shoulder high waves.  The swell peaks late Saturday with some more solid shoulder high waves for the evening session.  With the angle of the swell San Diego will certainly see the bulk of the NW with OC and LA seeing much less.  Sunday we’ll see size drop off from waist/chest in the AM to just waist high by nightfall.  After that it looks like we should have some smaller NW swells but no big swell makers.  The jet stream is doing all sorts of zigs and zags so any swell makers are getting tossed around.  The southern hemi has a little activity but no huge swell makers either as is expected for this time of year.

Weather is improving with sunnier skies, slightly warmer daytime AND nighttime temps.  I hope everyone survived our mini-polar vortex last week.  I’m almost glad there wasn’t any surf because crawling out of bed for the dawn patrol when it was 27 degrees out with the wind chill just wasn’t sounding like fun!  Daytime temps are creeping up to the low-70s along the coast (80s inland!) with clear skies thru Tuesday.  Nighttime temps are still pretty chilly and in the mid to low 40s.  Our week ends with a slight cooling trend with a few more clouds thru the weekend before clearing up next week.  Luckily the water temps are still in the low 60s.  We have some pretty big tide swings this week with Monday’s full moon.  Look for a super high mid-morning tide draining out all day to a negative low just before sunset.  That makes for nice tide pooling if you’re at the beach anyway!

Rolling in the 2015 with some pretty small conditions but that will hopefully change sooner than later!  Wishing you all a Happy New Year with many fun waves to come!

Stay wet So Cal!

Mish

Local legend Dale Dobson dropping in on a nice one!   

Cardiff Reef Jan. 30, 2010

Tides for La Jolla (Scripps Institution Wharf) starting with January 5, 2015.

Day        High      Tide  Height   Sunrise    Moon  Time      % Moon

           /Low      Time    Feet    Sunset                    Visible

M    5      Low   2:27 AM     1.7   6:52 AM     Set  6:57 AM      99

     5     High   8:39 AM     5.9   4:57 PM    Rise  5:50 PM

     5      Low   3:35 PM    -0.9

     5     High  10:04 PM     4.0

Tu   6      Low   3:03 AM     1.7   6:52 AM     Set  7:39 AM      99

     6     High   9:12 AM     5.7   4:58 PM    Rise  6:44 PM

     6      Low   4:07 PM    -0.7

     6     High  10:37 PM     4.0

W    7      Low   3:39 AM     1.8   6:52 AM     Set  8:17 AM      97

     7     High   9:45 AM     5.4   4:58 PM    Rise  7:37 PM

     7      Low   4:38 PM    -0.4

     7     High  11:11 PM     3.9

Th   8      Low   4:17 AM     2.0   6:52 AM     Set  8:52 AM      93

     8     High  10:18 AM     5.1   4:59 PM    Rise  8:30 PM

     8      Low   5:09 PM    -0.1

     8     High  11:48 PM     3.9

F    9      Low   4:58 AM     2.1   6:52 AM     Set  9:25 AM      88

     9     High  10:52 AM     4.6   5:00 PM    Rise  9:23 PM