THE Surf Report- Early Edition

Working for the weekend.

SURF:

Love working all week just to get to the weekend and see it flat. And rainy. So that's your report! No need to read further! But for those of you looking to kill some time, we've got small conditions tomorrow from the NW and SW for waist high sets. Not much better on Saturday and Sunday- in fact worse- as a good storm bares down on us.

The surf will pick up late on Saturday but that's just due to the stormy conditions. Amazingly, this is the flattest it's been since, I dunno, December? Regardless, you know it was due to end sometime. So enjoy your weekend- maybe get a fire going and crack open that puzzle you've been saving.

Tides the next few days are 0' at sunrise, up to 5' before lunch, down to 0' again late afternoon and up to 3' at sunset. And water temps are in the low 60's.

FORECAST:
So how do I put this nicely? We have surf coming next week! But there's more rain coming next week! Rad for winter to show up a week after Spring Break.

Look for small but rideable waves Monday (along with rain again), and if you're desperate for surf (and sinus infections), look for the waves to start picking up Tuesday afternoon and peak on Wednesday with head high+ surf. Conditions should be fairly clean.

On Thursday, models show more rain headed our way and the surf picking up too- pretty big actually. If the forecast holds up, we could have 10' surf and messy conditions next weekend. As far as the southern hemisphere goes, we've had some storms down there but nothing big or too organized, so all eyes are on the storms in the north Pacific next week.

WEATHER:

As mentioned above, we have rain finally in the next 7 days. Hopefully we'll get back on track to make up for that dry February and March. In case you're wondering, preliminary rainfall totals for today are around 1/3". Tomorrow we're in-between storms, then a more potent  weather maker arrives Saturday afternoon bringing a little more wind and rainfall totals around 3/4". Sunday starts to clean up then a smaller storm arrives Monday for an additional 1/4" of rain. If I haven't lost you yet, Tuesday/Wednesday is ANOTHER transition day then ANOTHER rain maker is forecasted for Thursday. I can't complain- we need it. Make sure to keep up to date on the conditions at Twitter/North County Surf. 

BEST BET:
Wednesday as we'll have peaking NW and clean conditions.

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

Even though the San Diego hasn’t received the amount of rain hoped for with this season’s very strong El Niño event, numerous Pacific storms have generated plenty of big surf. And with the big surf, the waves have whipped up an abundance of sea foam. Besides sea foam being generated on every breaking wave, you especially notice it during large wave events and periods of plankton blooms. But just what is sea foam? The most obvious answer is the combination of water and oxygen to make bubbles. San Luis Obispo on the central coast saw their fair amount of foam this winter and the local paper Tribune gives their explanation:

Irving Berlin wrote the lyric, “to the oceans white with foam,” in the patriotic song “God Bless America,” made famous by Kate Smith. Depending on the type of organic matter in the seawater, the foam can also take on a yellow-brownish hue.

Sea foam is formed by the agitation of seawater caused by crashing waves, especially when it contains large amounts of dissolved organic matter. Along California, plankton blooms combined with decaying bits and pieces of red, green and brown algae can put a lot of dissolved organic material in the water column in the form of proteins and fats.

Like fluffy whipped egg whites, the proteins in the seawater become denatured — changed from their natural state — as they are churned by breaking waves in the surf zone.

As the large denatured protein molecules unfold in the churning seawater like origami flowers, the air-loving part of the proteins stick to the air bubbles. The air bubbles in the foam become more persistent through surface tension. This is how sea foam develops.

Because of the persistence and light weight of sea foam, it can easily be blown onshore by winds onto beachfront sidewalks and streets.

Overall, the majority of sea foam is not harmful to humans. In fact, it is often an indication of a healthy and productive ocean ecosystem.

However, when sea foam is made from a harmful algal bloom such as dinoflagellates (red tide), the aerosols from its popping sea foam bubbles can pose a health risk for those with asthma or other respiratory conditions. It can also irritate the eyes of beachgoers.

If sewage, detergents or oils from polluted storm water are present, the resulting sea foam can be more persistent. Sometimes when the conditions are just right, large amounts of sea foam can accumulate along the coast and conceal large rocks and voids, making hiking along the beaches hazardous.

PIC OF THE WEEK:

Came across a really cool concept on Instagram this week. The name is 'Surfreps' and they bill themselves as 'The 500 foot surf report'. Basically they take shots of the surf from an aerial drone and give a quick report. The Pic of the Week is from Swamis this winter. Looks so calm and peaceful from 500 feet, doesn't it? You know better though!

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn
Your BFF
Was The Doctor In Prince's Band
Just Realized Wilko Is Leading the WSL, Not Wilco