Will I ever wear a wetsuit again?
SURF:
Even though the surf hasn't been the biggest (when was the last time you rode your step-up?), the water sure has been warm. A quick snapshot from last week had north county water temps at 78 degrees. For comparison's sake, Maui was 79 (and San Fran was over 20 degrees COLDER at 57. That's awful. Mark Twain said it best: "The coldest winter I ever spent was winter in San Francisco). Regardless, it's almost been unbearable to wear at least a wetsuit jacket. Only trunks will do.
FORECAST:
The southern hemisphere was quiet about a week ago which means quiet for us next week. Look for waist high waves at best from the SW with the OC maybe getting a chest high set if they're lucky at the best spots.
On a side note, we had a helluva lot of hurricanes last month. After no named storms formed in the eastern North Pacific basin in May or June for the first time since 1969, tropical cyclone activity in July was well above average. Seven named storms formed in the basin in July, with five of those becoming hurricanes and three becoming major hurricanes. In addition, a tropical depression (now Tropical Storm Howard) formed on 31 July. The number of hurricanes sets a new record for the most hurricane formations in July, and the numbers of named storms and major hurricanes tie previous records for the month. It's either feast (July) or famine (May/June) around here. Based on a 30-year (1981-2010) climatology, three to four named storms typically form in the basin in July, with two becoming hurricanes and one of those reaching major hurricane intensity.
In terms of Accumulated Cyclone Energy (ACE), which measures the combined strength and duration of tropical storms and hurricanes, this was the second most active July in eastern North Pacific history, behind July 1992. The ACE for the season to date is well above normal.
WEATHER:
Not much to talk about. We have a weak low pressure trough hanging over the west coast which will give us night/morning low clouds and hazy afternoon sunshine. Temps at the beaches will be in the mid-70's. That scenario should last most of next week. So that's about it. No tropical clouds, no fog, no heat wave, no rain; just typical San Diego weather.
BEST BET:
Today and then it's kaput until next weekend..
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
You’ve probably heard the saying ‘More people have been on the surface of the moon than at the deepest part of the ocean” (true- count is 12 to 3 for those of you keeping score). So with the ocean being so massive, it only makes sense that a few undiscovered species pop up from time to time. Like in the case of July 28th of this year, scientists identified a rare new species of whale in the North Pacific Ocean. Which is incredible since whales are one of the most studied animals and it’s kind of hard to not come across something that big.
The whale looks similar to the common Baird's beaked whale, but is slightly smaller and darker. Even Japanese whalers -- who call the species "karasu," Japanese for raven -- rarely see the whale. Scientists from a variety of universities, as well as the NOAA and Scripps Institution of Oceanography, conducted DNA analysis to confirm the species' uniqueness.
The whale's discovery was announced in a new paper, published this week in the journal "Marine Mammal Science. Scientists had to rely exclusively on DNA samples, which were compared to museum gene databases, as intact and well-preserved skeletons have been elusive.
"Every known specimen of this new whale found so far has been dead and, in most cases, decomposing on a remote sub-arctic beach," lead study author Phillip Morin, a molecular biologist at NOAA Fisheries' Southwest Fisheries Science Center, said in a news release. "Without a full skeleton of an adult animal or detailed measurements, we had to use forensic genetics to describe the evolutionary differences of this new species."
Scientists have yet to officially name the whale, but have confirmed the species as a member of the genus Berardiusin. "The challenge in documenting the species was simply locating enough specimens to provide convincing evidence," said Morin. "Clearly this species is very rare, and reminds us how much we have to learn about the ocean and even some of its largest inhabitants."
PIC OF THE WEEK:
With all the talk about Americans moving to Canada if Trump wins the election, I may just move up there regardless of the outcome for waves like this.
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
Salt of the Earth
Lighting the Olympic Flame in Rio
Was One of the 'sons' in Maui and Sons
