THE Surf Report

Shake and bake.

SURF:
Surf was small this past week but fortunately started to fill in from a couple of NW and SW groundswells late Wednesday night. At the same time high pressure started to build and help limit our low clouds/fog.

Today we have peaking SW groundswell and the NW is lingering. We still have shoulder high sets towards the OC and it's a little peakier than it has been. Looks like tomorrow the SW hangs around for chest high waves and then slowly drops on Sunday. If the weather cooperates, we should have a fun weekend of surf. And the continuing 70 degree water temps don't hurt either. On a side note, with all the warm water, the jellyfish have returned to our shores so beware the purple blobs as your sitting in the line up this weekend.

Tides the next few days are 2' at sunrise, down to 0' at 8am, up to 5' at 3pm, and down to 2' at sunset.  Make sure to keep up to date on the waves/weather at Twitter/North County Surf.

FORECAST:

After the SW fades this weekend, it's looking pretty small next week as we don't have any real swell producing storms to speak of. Charts show some waist high NW windswell maybe towards next weekend- but that's feeble!

We do though have a small but strong storm on the charts forming Sunday but that wouldn't give us surf until next weekend too. So until then, enjoy the nice weather.

WEATHER:

This time of year at the coast is frustrating. I know, I know, 'May Gray' and 'June Gloom' is a fact of life around here- as it bakes inland, we get stuck with stubborn low clouds at the coast. Basically high pressure is pressing down on the atmosphere and it's trapping our low clouds along the beaches. We have been getting some clearing at the beaches the past few days but it's been late in the day. That's why I love August and September around here- you wake up in the morning to sunny skies and tropical clouds overhead. Anyway... as our local deserts hit 120 this weekend, we'll have 75 degrees at the beaches and night and morning low clouds. Nothing to ruin a good beach day but still pesky nonetheless. Models do though show a chance of the clouds breaking up early tomorrow, then they come back in full force towards Monday and through next week. Nothing out of the ordinary- just typical summer around here. I'm hoping though the sun comes out for the 4th of July this year though- last year at the beach was awful!

BEST BET:
Today is the day with the peaking SW swell and some sunshine at the beaches later. OR... if that little storm forms in the southern hemisphere on Sunday and that forecasted small NW develops next week- Saturday the 6th could be fun.

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

Enough of my ranting about the low clouds at the beach today- what about those extremely hot temperatures at the deserts this weekend? Haven't heard? Just over the hill from us at Palm Desert, the high on Sunday is forecasted to be 120 degrees. Now that's hot. Like Death Valley hot. As mentioned above in the weather forecast, we have a strong ridge of high pressure building through Saturday in our western states. Where did the high come from? Glad you asked. We had an unusually strong storm for June roll through the northwest last week and record rainfall for the month was recorded- like 5" just north of the Napa area and 1/2" near San Francisco. And with such a strong storm rolling through- behind it your likely to have strong high pressure which we're experiencing this weekend. As mentioned above, Palm Desert is forecasted to hit 120 this weekend. But that's nothing: the little outpost known as Furnace Creek in Death Valley is forecasted to hit 129 degrees on Sunday and Monday. Yes- 1 degree shy of 130. Even if you're not a weather geek like me, you have to admit that's impressive. What's even more impressive, the low temp at Furnace Creek on Monday is only 100 degrees. Amazing to think the temp won't drop below 100 degrees on Monday- even in the dead of the morning. And in case you're wondering, the highest temp ever recorded for Death Valley was 134 degrees on July 10th, 1913- unofficially the highest temperature ever recorded on our planet. I don't think we'll hit that this weekend- but it's going to be close. So after our hot weekend, what's the next few months look like around here?

In the short term, NOAA's Climate Prediction Center is forecasting above normal monsoon activity in the southwestern states this next month. Meaning: more 'tropical' clouds overhead for us and thunderstorms in the desert.

In the long term (i.e. 1-3 months) NOAA is also predicting above normal temperatures for the southwest.

Even with the forecast of increased temps through the summer, the drought situation may improve slightly in the southwest due to the increased monsoon activity. Basically the deserts are going to shake and bake the next few months from the heat and thunderstorms.

BEST OF THE BLOG:

We've had a recent explosion of restaurants the past couple of years in Encinitas- from Union to Chic-Fil-A to Haggo's to Buffalo Wild Wings to Solterra and everything in-between (like the Bier Garden, Regal Seagull, Café Ipe, etc). Next up to the plate is Priority Public House where the priority is atmosphere and food. Make sure to check the full story on the North County Surf blog and check it out this weekend- plus the mid-week Surf Check AND an in-depth THE Surf Report. All of that and more in the blog below!

PIC OF THE WEEK:

Look at that juicy peak just waiting for you to pull in and grin. Like stealing candy from a baby. Not that I'd steal candy from a baby but this is pretty tempting. Ok, just once maybe. C'mon! Look how filthy that wedge is!

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn
Confidant
3rd Place, 1997 Badwater Ultramarathon
Arrested Once for Shooting the Curl

North County New Business News: Open To The Public

There's been a recent explosion of restaurants in Encinitas lately- from Haggo's to Solterra to Buffalo Wild Wings to Café Ipe to Union to the Bier Garden- it's something for everyone. Next up to the plate is Priority Public House in the old Calypso location at 576 North Coast Highway 101 in Encinitas.

Back in the 70's, restaurants that were dark and dingy and secretive (think Studio 54) were all the rage. Now that we've hit the millennium, open, bright, and breezy is the way to go. Priority Public House fits that bill as everyone window is open and there's lots of light inside.

Manager Chris Balfour gave me a quick tour today and let me know the aim of Public was to have a relaxed feeling with the décor and layout- definitely not plastic and sterile. It's a good mix inside- along with the open windows they used a lot of wood and weathered metal. Besides the cool interior, the food is also a focal point. Chris mentioned chef Mark Dowen was brought on to serve up unique plates- such as crab and smoked gouda mac-n-cheese as well as this 'inside out' jalapeno jack cheese burger thing that I just butchered in this blog- basically you need to go down there and have it for yourself. The menu is also evolving Chris said based on local's preferences. And if you have a special request for a certain beer- they'll try to work it in to the menu for you. Not a bad deal.

So where did the idea of Public Priority House come from? It's the vision of Brian and Megan McBride from Encinitas. Brian was tired of the corporate life and always wanted to own a restaurant. When Calypso was looking for a buyer, the McBrides jumped at the chance. Now that they're open- support your local business this weekend! They're open Tuesday at 4pm and Wednesday to Sunday at 11am. Monday they're closed. With the weather forecast looking darn good for the 4th of July week, make sure to get there early!

Surf Check

Funny to think the 2nd half of this week will be the opposite of today. Let's compare and contrast:
-Today: Tiny NW and small SW for waist high sets towards the OC. Cloudy. Cool.
-Thursday: Fun NW and good SW for overhead sets. Sunny. Hot.
Let's start with today. We have a late season storm moving through northern California today where some spots have seen up to 1/2" of rain with a few more showers happening this morning.

For southern California, we're just getting the tail end of the cold front and it's thickened up our low clouds/fog. We should see sun later today as high pressure builds but temps at the beaches may be lucky to hit 70. On the flip side, with such a late season storm, high pressure behind it will be fairly strong. So strong in fact that Death Valley is forecasted to hit 125 degrees by the weekend. Yes you read that correctly. On the coast though, patchy fog may be trapped under the high but we still should get near 80 degrees and have a shot of sun at the beaches.

As far as the surf goes around here, we've had a slow decline the past few days. Today we're left with some small waist high sets from the NW and SW. Along with the overcast conditions, it's not looking that appealing.

Tides are almost back to normal with just the odd -1.5' at sunrise, then up to 4.5' at noon, down to 1.5' at dinner, and up slightly to 3' at sunset. Water temps are still great with readings around 68 in the mornings and almost 70 in the afternoons.

So enough about Death Valley and the small surf today. What's going on the rest of the week? We had a couple storms spinning in the southern hemisphere last week that will send us overhead sets late Thursday into Saturday morning. The storms weren't that strong but they were broad and they were aimed N at us.

And if that wasn't enough, we also had some late season activity in the north Pacific a few days ago that will send a chest high NW our way for Thursday/Friday too.

AND... Tropical Storm Cosme is also spinning off Cabo/Mainland Mex today. Unfortunately this is only forecasted to hit minimal hurricane status (winds peaking tomorrow at 85 mph) AND it's moving away from us in a westerly direction AND if any swell does reach us (meaning the OC) it's just going to get overridden by that fun SW later this week.

After that it's looking pretty quiet late in the weekend and into early next week. Just some small NW windswell is forecasted and the southern hemisphere went radio silent a few days ago. There is another storm on the charts though in the southern hemisphere towards the end of the month but it's almost out of our swell window by the time it's going to form so we may only get a glancing blow towards the 4th of July weekend. So until then, enjoy the NW/SW and great weather later this week!

THE Surf Report- early edition

Are the stars aligning?...

SURF:
Not the biggest surf this week but kind of fun with sunny skies, chest high combo swell, and water temps hovering at 70 degrees.

Today the train kept a rollin' with a few bigger shoulder high sets towards the OC.

Looks like we have more of the same this weekend with continuing NW windswell until Saturday morning and another small bump from the SW on Saturday. Models though do show a weak front moving through northern California on Sunday so it may be hard for the beaches to burn off the low clouds and there may be a little more SW wind. Other than that- tomorrow and Saturday look nice.

Tides the next few days are about 1' at sunrise, up to 4' at 9am, down to 2' at 2pm and up to a monster 7' tide at sunset.  Make sure to keep up to date on the waves/weather at Twitter/North County Surf.

FORECAST:

After a little weekend of combo surf, the waves back off the first part of the workweek but the models- wave and weather- seem to be aligning the 2nd half of next week. Currently there's a couple storms rolling around in the southern hemisphere which should give us head high sets towards next Thursday.

There's also a late late late season NW on the charts which should give south county SD some chest high waves towards next Friday.

And there's even a hurricane forecasted that should give the OC some chest high swell next Saturday. AND the weather maps are showing some beach temps near 80 next weekend if everything holds together. Even if the predictions are off slightly, that still leaves a couple of the swells or weather left to enjoy.

WEATHER:

Great way to officially start summer today. Basically we're looking at temps near 60 in the morning and 70 in the afternoons. As mentioned above, we have a weak front moving through northern California on Sunday which will thicken our low clouds some on Sunday. So expect nice weather through Saturday and maybe some drizzle on Sunday night/Monday morning. High pressure then starts to build the middle of next week and we should have sunnier skies and temps near the mid-70's. And the long term claims high pressure will strengthen even more next weekend for beach temps near 80. Just like summer is supposed to be.

BEST BET:
If my dreams come true the 2nd half of next week, we'll have SW swell, NW swell, S swell, 70 degree water temps, and 80 degree beach temps. Man I just jinxed it...

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

According to the National Climatic Data Center’s 2012 weather and climate disasters information, 2012 saw 11 weather and climate disaster events each with losses exceeding $1 billion in damages. This makes 2012 the second costliest year since 1980, with a total of more than $110 billion in damages throughout the year. The 2012 total damages rank only behind 2005, which incurred $160 billion in damages due in part to four devastating land-falling hurricanes.

The 2012 billion-dollar events included seven severe weather and tornado events, two tropical cyclone events, and the yearlong drought and its associated wildfires. These 11 events killed over 300 people and had devastating economic effects on the areas impacted. With 11 events, 2012 also ranks second highest in total number of billion-dollar events behind 2011, which had 14 events.

The two major drivers of the damage costs in 2012 were Sandy at approximately $65 billion and the yearlong drought at approximately $30 billion. Sandy’s large size, with tropical storm force winds extending nearly 500 miles from the center, led to record storm surge, large-scale flooding, wind damage, and mass power outages along much of the East Coast.

The yearlong drought, which affected more than half the country for the majority of 2012, was the largest drought extent in the United States since the 1930s. U.S. Department of Agriculture Drought Disaster Declarations reached more than 2,600 of the Nation’s 3,143 counties. While drought impacts are often most costly to agricultural centers, their conditions also led to several devastating wildfires that burned over 9 million acres nationwide during 2012.

BEST OF THE BLOG:

There's more development going on in Encinitas. Is the recession officially over? This time another mixed use retail/housing project is going up in the southern part of downtown. Think of it as 'mini-Pacific Station'. Check the full story on the North County Surf blog- plus the mid-week Surf Check AND an in-depth THE Surf Report. All of that and more in the blog below!

PIC OF THE WEEK:

If everything comes together next weekend, this is what your local break is going to look like. Seriously. Just don't quote me on it. 

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn
Your Tour Guide In Life
Part-time Sorcerer
Star of the Hit New Show 'Pimp My Wave Jet'

North County Business News: No More Motel

Looks like a taste of old Encinitas is going the way of Oly O's, Redsand, K5, and George's. The Motel Villa Mar, bought by Amado and Julia Quintanilla in 1985, is due for a makeover (i.e. demolition) based on the permit I saw recently posted on the building. If you're not familiar with the little old motel, it's next door to the Potato Shack and on the corner of I Street and South 101 (across the street from St. Germains restaurant). There was a good article about the hotel in the San Diego Union Tribune 6 years ago (you can read it here). The age of the Quintanilla's back then was 79 which makes them around 85 today and well overdue for retirement.

Looks like the old building will be turned into "a mixed use development, consisting of first floor retail spaces and 7 residential dwelling units and associated improvements'. Most likely this means retail spaces below and condos above. HOPEFULLY this also means the new building will keep the original 2 story integrity AND the retail below blends in with the surrounding neighborhood. Kind of a bummer the motel is phased out as there aren't a lot of good motel/hotels in general for Encinitas. Carlsbad takes that distinction with La Costa/Hilton/Aviara resorts. Not that downtown Encinitas has the space for a resort, but maybe a little L'Auberge would be nice?...

Anyway, keep checking back on the North County Surf blog on updates to the plans for the old motel.

Surf Check

Kind of looks fun out there today. It's small- but kind of fun. It's amazing how sunny skies and warm water temps will make even the smallest surf look rippable.

The past few days we've had little bumps in NW windswell and SW groundswell and today is no different- we've got a small combination of NW/SW and sets are chest high around town. Throw in some water temperatures near 70, sunny skies near 70, and clear water, and you've got a fun day at the beach. If you're not stuck in the office or school of course.

Tides the next few days are pretty mellow except for the 6' tide just before sunset.

The weather should hold up in the foreseeable future. We have a weak system moving by to the N and it's going to add a little more low clouds in the nights and mornings- but we still should see sun by lunch. The weekend is looking like more of the same- night and morning low clouds, hazy sun in the afternoon, with temps near 70 in the day and 60 at night.

And with the weak front moving through the state the next few days, it will kick up the NW windswell too. Mighty nice of it. We should have chest high waves from it by Thursday in San Diego and waist high+ waves here.

And if that wasn't enough, we had a small storm flare up in the southern hemisphere last week which should arrive on our shores on Thursday too. That is good for chest high waves in the OC and waist high+ waves down here. Combine it with the building NW windswell though and you've got shoulder high sets the 2nd half of this week. Full playground!

For the long term, the charts show some lingering life in the N Pacific- which is hard to believe since summer starts this weekend. But if the models hold up, we may get shoulder high NW groundswell in San Diego the middle of next week and chest high sets here in N county SD.

The charts also show the southern hemisphere trying to get organized the next few days. If that's the case, I'm hoping to see some chest high waves the middle of next week too and head high sets in the OC. Let's hope the NW and SW groundswells live up to their potential the middle of next week. All in all some fun combo surf later this week, small the beginning of next week, and hopefully good again the middle of next week.

THE Surf Report

Cruisin'.

SURF:
Man that was a good SW swell last weekend. A little lined up but the reefs, points, and jetties were darn good; if they could hold the size. The swell slowly tapered off this week but we still had some background SW swells keeping us in rideable waist high+ waves. And with the bump up in NW windswell yesterday, the beaches had some fun chest high sets from the combo peaks.

Today the NW is peaking and there's still some background SW swell for waist high+ sets. The wind unfortunately is already blowing from the SW at 5 and it's overcast again. Water temps are finally rebounding towards the high 60's and the sun should come out again mid-morning for mostly sunny skies. Looks fun out there if you can skip out of work early for a little late afternoon Friday session. Tomorrow both swells back off but we get a little bump again from the SW on Sunday. Nothing big but we should have chest high sets again.. If you plan your session accordingly this weekend you may get some fun little waves.

Tides the next few days are about 0' at sunrise, up to 4' at 3pm, and down to 2' at sunset.  Make sure to keep up to date on the waves/weather at Twitter/North County Surf. 

FORECAST:

After a little weekend of combo surf, the waves look pretty small Monday and Tuesday. Fortunately we should have another little SW bump towards Wednesday for waist high waves in SD county and chest high sets in the OC.

Also on the charts is a sizeable NW windswell trying to form towards Wednesday off Central California. If everything comes together, south SD county should see some shoulder high sets towards Thursday. North SD county and south OC county should see some fun chest high+ waves from both the SW/NW combo swells.

After that, the southern hemisphere is trying to come to life- if it does- expect some fun SW swell towards the 25th and the 28th.

WEATHER:

Just typical June weather on tap the next few days- summer isn't here yet so weak cold fronts are slowly drifting by to the north making minor fluctuations in the marine layer down here. Some days the clouds clear from the coast- other days they don't. Thankfully the models don't show any thick/cold low clouds hugging the coast so we should at least be near the high 60's each day with a shot at partial clearing. Considering it's technically still spring, can't complain. This pattern should hold through next week.

BEST BET:
Nothing too exciting but if we get a little bump from the SW towards Wednesday of next week and then that fun NW windswell shows Thursday, could be some fun surf the 2nd half of next week. 

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

Wasn't that early 70 degree warm water a bonus for the end of May? All that S wind pooled up the warm water along our shores and made wearing trunks as easy as taking candy from a baby. Then of course the wind switched W at the beginning of June and it was back to short sleeve fulls and 65 degree water. Looks like it's starting to come back around again with temps today near 67; just in time as summer is a week away. But just what is normal water temperatures around here? Below is what NOAA considers the averages, per month, in Oceanside, CA:
-January 58
-February 58
-March 58
-April 59
-May 64 
-June 64
-July 69
-August 69
-September 68
-October 66
-November 63
-December 61
Based on the averages, we're not doing too bad for June (we're at 67 and average is 64). Normally in May we have a lot of weak cold fronts blowing through the area with W and NW winds which creates upwelling and colder water. But with the mild winter/lack of rain storms we just had, there wasn't many weak fronts blowing through in May and we've had mild water temps so far. Even though it's not an El Nino year, hopefully we can continue the above average water temps and cruise into July in the low 70's.

BEST OF THE BLOG:

Man there's been a lot of stories the past few years about man made waves. From Kelly Slater and Greg Webber's competing pools, to Dion's Dubai diamond, to artificial reefs- no one can seem to get it right unfortunately. So what about the original man made wave- The Wedge- to today's flavor of the month- the Wave-Garden in Spain? They both had big premieres this month- a doozy of a southern hemisphere swell to kick off the summer season at the Wedge and improved technology made the Wave-Garden bigger and longer. Who's the winner? Check the full story on the North County Surf blog- plus the mid-week Surf Check AND an in-depth THE Surf Report. All of that and more in the blog below!

PIC OF THE WEEK:

Definitely one of the oddest Pics of the Week I've ever had. Nothing odd about waves and pine trees- Raph and Sepp Bruhwiler made that kosher in Vancouver. What's odd about this set up is that it's in the MIDDLE of a forest. Thanks to the Wave-Garden, anything is possible now. What's next? Barrels in Dubai? Already done that you said? Then the door has been officially shut on 'The Search' I guess. Sorry Tom.

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn
First Rate
World's Greatest Dad
Weighing Offers From Kai Neville and Taylor Steele