THE Surf Report 6/8/12

Finally feeling like summer.

SURF:

Had some fun surf earlier in the week- once the clouds burned off. Today we have a little more clouds again and dropping NW windswell with smaller SW underneath. Best spots in far north SD county and the OC have chest high+ sets and the low tide this morning is zapping a little shape- best bet is the mid-day tide push. We had some activity under New Zealand about a week ago that sent us some surf (i.e. the Volcom Fiji Pro swell) but the south Pacific Islands blocked a lot of it. Regardless, we have some more waist high SW with chest high sets on Saturday. And as luck would have it, another weak cold front is moving through northern California over the weekend- resulting in more stubborn low clouds at the beach over the weekend and another round of NW windswell for us. If the sun comes out by late afternoon, we should see some chest high+ NW/SW combo swell like we had a couple days ago. AND the water is holding at 68 degrees. No complaints. By Sunday morning, both swells are peaking and we'll have chest high+ sets. All in all there should be a little afternoon sun and some fun waves. Nothing big but at least the stars seem to be aligning.

Beware the early morning low tides and S fog winds though. Tides the next few days are almost -'1 at 8am, 4' mid-afternoon, and down to 2' at sunset. Make sure to keep up to date on the waves and weather at Twitter/North County Surf.

FORECAST:

After the weekend swells, we get some more NW windswell  on Wednesday for chest high waves in north SD county and shoulder high sets in SD.

Charts are showing a little activity in the southern hemisphere around 6/15 and we may get some shoulder high SW on 6/22. Nothing major yet but things may change between now and then.

WEATHER:

As advertised above, we have a weak cold front moving through Northern California today. The result for us will be a slightly deeper marine layer but I'm hoping it's not as thick as last weekend- i.e. the one that never burned off during the afternoon. I'm thinking we may see some sun in the mid-afternoons. By Monday high pressure starts to set up shop and we get a little more sun at the beach. That lasts through Wednesday. Charts show a little stronger front moving through the state next Thursday afternoon into Friday so we may have clouds at the beach all day and nighttime drizzle. Not out of the ordinary- just like last weekend- June Gloom.

BEST BET:
Probably Sunday with the combo new fun NW/SW. Just hoping we see some afternoon sunshine though.

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

NOAA this week released their monthly and seasonal climatology report. Just more news on the earth heating up abnormally quick...
U.S. experiences second warmest May, hottest spring on record
The average temperature for the contiguous U.S. during May was 64.3°F, 3.3°F above the long-term average, making it the second warmest May on record. The month's high temperatures also contributed to the warmest spring, warmest year-to-date, and warmest 12-month period the nation has experienced since record keeping began in 1895. The spring season's (March-May) nationally-averaged temperature was 57.1°F, 5.2°F above the 1901-2000 long-term average, surpassing the previous warmest spring (1910) by 2.0°F.
U.S. climate highlights — May
•Warmer-than-average temperatures occurred across all parts of the contiguous U.S., except the Northwest, during May. Twenty-six states had May temperatures ranking among their ten warmest.
May 2012 Statewide Temperature (top) and Precipitation (bottom) ranks
•Tropical Storm Beryl made landfall near Jacksonville, FL., on May 28, bringing beneficial rainfall to parts of the drought-stricken Southeast. Beryl occurred on the heels of Tropical Storm Alberto, which occurred offshore the Carolinas, marking the third time on record that two tropical cyclones reached tropical storm strength during May (prior to the start of June 1 hurricane season) in the North Atlantic basin.
•According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, as of May 29th, 37.4 percent of the contiguous U.S. experienced drought conditions, a slight decrease from 38.2 percent at the beginning of May. Drought conditions improved across the coastal Southeast, the Southern Plains, Northeast and Upper Midwest while they deteriorated for parts of the Mid-South and Southwest.
U.S. climate highlights — Spring (March-May)
•The nationally-averaged spring temperature of 57.1°F was 5.2°F above the long-term average. With the warmest March, third warmest April and second warmest May, Spring 2012 marked the largest temperature departure from average of any season on record for the contiguous United States.
May 2012 Statewide Temperature (top) and Precipitation (bottom) ranks
•Spring was drier than average for the contiguous U.S. as a whole, with a national precipitation total of 7.47 inches, 0.24 inch below average.
•Record and near-record warmth dominated the eastern two-thirds of the nation during spring. Thirty-one states were record warm for the season and 11 additional states had spring temperatures ranking among their ten warmest. Only Oregon and Washington had spring temperatures near normal.
•Wetter-than-average conditions prevailed from the West Coast through the Northern Plains and into the Upper Midwest. Oregon was record wet and Minnesota and Washington were third wettest. The Intermountain West, Ohio Valley, and parts of the Mid-Atlantic were drier than average. Colorado, Utah, Wyoming, Indiana, and Delaware had a top ten dry spring.
U.S. climate highlights — Year-to-date
•The January-May months were the warmest such period on record for the contiguous United States, with an average temperature of 49.2°F, 5.0°F above the long-term average. Twenty-nine states, all east of the Rockies, were record warm for the five-month period and an additional 14 states had temperatures for the period among their ten warmest.
•The June 2011-May 2012 period was the warmest 12-month period of any 12 months on record for the contiguous United States. The nationally-averaged temperature of 56.0°F was 3.2°F above the long-term average, surpassing the previous warmest 12-month period, set last month, by 0.4°F. The 12-month period encapsulated the second warmest summer, fourth warmest winter, and the warmest spring on record. Every state across the contiguous U.S. had warmer than average temperatures for the period, except Washington, which was near normal.
•Each of the 12 months from June 2011 through May 2012 ranked among the warmest third of their historical distribution for the first time in the 1895-present record. The odds of this occurring randomly are 1 in 531,441.

BEST OF THE BLOG:

All kinds of deals for summer. Seshday has got wetsuits, surf shirts, and sandals on sale. And The Surf Station has Channel Islands on sale- lots of 'em. And cheap shipping to the west coast. Might be worth your time to take a gander. And of course the North County Surf blog's got the mid-week Surf Check and more detailed THE Surf Report. All of that and more in the blog below!

PIC OF THE WEEK:

Even though I've never surfed a true left point in my life, I can still dream. Like this great shot of Desert Point from Australia's Stab Magazine. Make sure to check out more great shots from one of the best mags around at Stab Magazine.

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn
Whirling Dervish
World's Greatest Dad
Taught Sasaki How to Drop Knee