I pine for the days of storms, tow-ins, and barrels you can drive a Mac Truck through.
SURF:
Nothing too exciting this past week. Just some small NW windswell and SW groundswell as well as nice weather. Total opposite of our big stormy winter. Today we have more of the same SW groundswell and NW windswell for waves in the waist to chest high range with maybe a shoulder high set at the best spots. That will hold into the weekend. Tomorrow the weather should be nice so with the high tides in the morning and little combo swells, the beach breaks should have some fun peaks. Look for typical 10mph afternoon sea breezes from the W. Nothing to really get excited about this weekend but you should find some fun rideable waves in the morning if you get up early enough. Tides the next few days are around 5' at breakfast, -1’ mid-afternoon, and back up to 5’ at sunset. Water temps are finally holding at 60. And as always, keep up to date on the waves and weather at Twitter/North County Surf.
FORECAST:
After a little weekend of surf, we get a slight bump from the SW for Monday/Tuesday while the background NW hangs on. Look for best SW spots (mainly the OC) to have shoulder high sets. Both swells back down mid week and charts show more SW for next weekend- hopefully it will be bigger than these meager SW swells we’ve had lately. Aren’t we due for some solid overhead southern hemi lines soon?
WEATHER:
Finally nice to get some good weather around here. Looks like the rain has stopped until November (hopefully) and we’ve got beach temps in the high 70’s today and tomorrow. There’s even a little surf, the water is finally 60, and it’s the weekend! Stoke! Nothing lasts forever unfortunately (well, fortunately I guess- I couldn’t stand a year-round American Idol). Looks like the return of low clouds and fog as well as cooler temps are in store starting Sunday. We have a series of weak fronts moving through the northern part of the state and that’s going to kick up our morning low clouds and fog as well as bring our air temps back to reality- a cool 65 degrees. Nothing out of the ordinary next week in regards to spring weather but it would have been nice to hang on to ‘summer’ a little longer. Guess it’s time to go back to the tanning salon.
BEST BET:
Maybe Monday. Looks like a slight bump from the NW and a slight bump from the SW. Nothing big but maybe some shoulder high waves for most everywhere. Can’t believe I’m getting excited for shoulder high waves.
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
As usual, nothing is usual with our weather. Last month, temperatures and precipitation in the contiguous United States averaged above normal, according to NOAA scientists. The average temperature in March was 44.0 degrees F, which is 1.4 degrees F above the long-term (1901-2000) average. March precipitation, while record dry in areas like Texas, was overall 0.22 inch above the long-term average.
U.S. climate highlights – March
· Above-normal warmth dominated much of the southern U.S. and Rocky Mountains. The largest temperature departures were in Western Texas and New Mexico.
· Cooler-than-normal temperatures were present in the northern and western areas of the country. Conditions were especially cool from southwestern Minnesota across the Dakotas into eastern Montana. Within this belt, March temperatures were as much as 6 degrees below the 20th Century average.
· Precipitation varied across the country, as the west and east coasts received above normal amounts, while the central and southern United States was largely dry. Texas had its driest March on record.
· Record warm maximum temperatures exceeded record cold minimum temperatures by a 5-to-1 ratio.
· Washington, Oregon and California had their second, fifth, and ninth wettest March on record, respectively. Regionally, it was the second wettest March on record for the Northwest.
· Drought conditions continued to intensify across much of the nation in March. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, the overall footprint of drought did not increase, holding fairly steady at about 24 percent of the country. However, the area covered by the “Severe” and “Intense” drought categories almost doubled, from about 12 percent early in the month, to more than 20 percent at month’s end.
· Dry conditions across the Southern Plains contributed to above average wildfire activity during March. Across the U.S., approximately 385,000 acres burned, marking the second most active March in terms of wildfires on record, behind March 2006.
· Tornado activity was above average, with 115 preliminary tornado reports. Most of the tornado activity was confined to the Southeast and Gulf Coast, which is typical of early spring.
U.S. climate highlights – first quarter of 2011, rolling six- and 12-month periods
· It was the tenth driest first quarter (January to March) for both the South and Southwest climate regions.
· Both the rolling six-month and 12-month periods generally show that the northern United States has been generally wet, while the South has been dry.
· On the six-month timescale, October 2010 through March 2011, above-average precipitation occurred across much of the West, the Northern Plains and the Northeast. Nevada and Vermont each had its third-wettest such period.
· Over the past 12 months, April 2010 – March 2011, a belt of abnormal wetness stretched from the western Great Lakes to the Pacific Northwest. Wisconsin had its wettest such period. Its precipitation average of 41.52 inches was more than 10 inches above its 20th century average. Additionally, Iowa, Minnesota, and North Dakota experienced their second wettest such period. Precipitation was below normal in the South during this period. It was the fourth driest in Louisiana, fifth driest in Arkansas, ninth driest in Florida, and 10th driest in Mississippi.
The good news is that we have summer like weather today and tomorrow; get it while you can of course as next week looks like typical gloomy spring conditions.
BEST OF THE BLOG:
All kinds of stuff going on this past week in north county- Five Guys vs. In N Out Burger battles, off-price department store Kohls vs. Big Lots fight to the death (I hope), deals on Sanuk footwear, and your soon to be new favorite watering hole called Union. The best way to defeat a recession is to spend, spend, spend. Check out my blog below to find out where you can part ways with your hard earned cash.
PIC OF THE WEEK:
There’s a spot called ‘Pasta Point’ in the Maldives which offers a firing left to guests at the exclusive Indian Ocean resort. Personally, I like my pasta from the source- Italy- and my Pasta Point isn’t just for the snooty well-to-do. So head on over to Sicily where you can feast on these empty lefts on just dollars a day. Only problem is I’m not exactly sure where this wave is in Italy and it’s probably fickle as hell. Most likely I’ll be sitting around all day eating calzone, drinking wine, and chatting it up with Sophia Loren. No downside to that I guess. For more pics on Italian surf, check out The Stormrider Guide Europe.
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
Shifty
Trump/Glenn ‘12
The Sultan of Slow
