SURF:
Fun little combo NW/SW swell this past week and some typical springtime low clouds and fog during the night and mornings. UNTIL… yesterday when high pressure really kicked in gear and temps at the beaches reached 80. Today we get great weather again and some leftover NW/SW this morning for waist high to chest high waves most everywhere. Hawaii had a good NW this past week and that arrives on our shores later tonight. Tomorrow we’ll have head high NW waves in north SD/OC, overhead sets in south SD, and chest high waves in south OC. Unfortunately today is our last day of ‘summer’ as the weather cools off tomorrow and we have a shot of showers Saturday afternoon through Sunday morning. Sunday we have leftover NW/SW and a slight drop in size. The cold front also moves out Sunday afternoon and we’ll probably have breezy NW winds behind it. Nothing too strong but just enough to make the small swells junky. Water temps are still cold- I’ll wake you when it’s springsuit time. Tides the next few days are around 3’ at sunrise, 5’ at 9am, down to 0’ mid-afternoon, and back up to 4’ at sunset. Make sure to keep up to date on the weather and waves at http://twitter.com/NorthCountySurf.
FORECAST:
After a mixed bag of waves and weather this weekend, skies clear out for the first part of the week and we get a reinforcement Monday out of the NW for more head high+ waves in north SD/OC, overhead+ sets in south SD, and chest high waves in south OC. That lasts through Tuesday. We’ll also have some small background SW but it won’t amount to much compared to the solid NW. By Wednesday things get interesting. We have yet another overhead NW and charts show a good SW showing up mid-week too. If that’s the case, we should have plenty of overhead waves everywhere- doesn’t matter if your beach is S facing, W facing, etc. In general, it should be a good week of waves with the second half being best.
WEATHER:
BEST BET:
If the models hold up, we should have a good NW and SW arriving about the same time next Wednesday. Both of these swells are long period and will tend to morph together (vs. shorter period NW/SW swell combos which tend to cross each other up more and become peakier at the beachbreaks) but we still should have some good peaks (and nice weather I might add) mid-week. Clear your schedule!
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
Guess what I did today? My driveway was slightly dirty so I hosed it down. Must have used 100 gallons of water. Also turned on my sprinklers 4 times today- my lawn wasn’t as green as I normally like it to be. Even took an hour shower. Not because I was dirty. I just like to sing. Why all the wasted water in a time of drought? What drought?! Read on agua aficionados…
Department of Water Resources (DWR) hydrologists today announced that water content in California's mountain snowpack is 165 percent of the April 1 full season average."Recent storms have significantly contributed to the above-average snowpack, helping to stabilize California's water supply for the year," said DWR Director Mark Cowin. "While this is beneficial for California's farms, businesses and communities, we remind residents to practice sensible water use and conservation as we transition to warmer weather." After the snowpack readings were in, Governor Jerry Brown officially rescinded former Governor Schwarzenegger's emergency proclamations and executive order issued in 2008 and 2009 relating to water shortage associated with the drought. Snowpack water content is measured both manually on or near the first of the month from January to May, and in real-time by electronic sensors. Today's manual survey and electronic readings are the most important of the year, since April 1 is when the state's snowpack normally is at its peak before it melts into streams and reservoirs in the spring and summer months. March precipitation has helped register 2011 among the top years in snowpack water content, despite dry weather conditions in January and early February. The mountain snowpack provides approximately one-third of the water for California's households, industry and farms as it melts into streams and reservoirs. Electronic readings indicate that water content in the northern mountains is 174 percent of the April 1 seasonal average. Electronic readings for the central Sierra show 163 percent of the April 1 average. The number for the southern Sierra is 158 percent. The statewide number is 165 Percent. On March 1, the date of this winter's third manual survey, percentages of the snowpack's normal water content were 109 percent of the full season average, 103 percent for the northern Sierra, 106 percent for the central Sierra, and 119 percent in the south. On this date last year, snowpack water content readings of the April 1 average were 123 percent in the north, 88 percent in the central ranges, 102 percent in the south, and 102 percent statewide. California's reservoirs are fed both by rain and snowpack runoff. A majority of the state's major reservoirs are above normal storage levels for the date. Lake Oroville in Butte County, the State Water Project's principal reservoir, is 104 percent of average for the date (80 percent of its 3.5 million acre-foot capacity). Lake Shasta north of Redding, the federal Central Valley Project's largest reservoir with a capacity of 4.5 million acre-feet, is at 111 percent of average (91 percent of capacity). DWR estimates it will be able to deliver 70 percent of requested State Water Project (SWP) water this year. The estimate likely will be adjusted upward as hydrologists make adjustments for snowpack and runoff readings. In 2010, the SWP delivered 50 percent of a requested 4,172,126 acre-feet, up from a record-low initial projection of 5 percent due to lingering effects of the 2007-2009 drought. Deliveries were 60 percent of requests in 2007, 35 percent in 2008, and 40 percent in 2009. The last 100 percent allocation -- difficult to achieve even in wet years due to pumping restrictions to protect threatened and endangered fish -- was in 2006. The SWP delivers water to more than 25 million Californians and nearly one million acres of irrigated farmland. Long story short- everything seems good now, but we do live in a desert, and we will go dry again… so keep conserving!
BEST OF THE BLOG:
Summer is almost here! Sure feels like it today at least. That means it must be time to buy a new fullsuit! Think I’m crazy? Then make sure to check out the blog below titled 'Deal Alert- Cheap Suits!' and thank me later.
PIC OF THE WEEK:
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
Heir-apparent
Finally Made The Forbes Billionaire List
Swear by Beavertails
