THE Surf Report

Water water everywhere, nor any drop to drink.

SURF:
Lots of rain pounding Central/Northern CA the past few days but nothing of significance for us. The source of the rain has been the an 'atmospheric river' (more on that below in the NEWS OF THE WEEK) which has been aiming a steady stream of clouds into the northern part of the state.

The clouds though haven't been organized into the classic storm generating shape we like; so we're left with small disorganized WNW swell and a tough of small off season SW.

Today we have waist high sets and clean conditions while Saturday bumps up slightly to the chest high range towards SD. That holds through Sunday. There may be a chance of light showers again on Saturday (and a little S wind) but nothing major.

Water temps are holding in the high 50's and tides the next few days are 4' at sunrise, down to 0' at lunch, and up to 3' at sunset.

FORECAST:
If the models are right, things start to take a turn for the better.

Another small storm will come down from the N on Monday and give us chest high waves late Monday/Tuesday. There's another storm forecasted right on it's heels for POTENTIALLY head high sets Thursday. The fly in the ointment though is the weather forecast- all that rain up N may dip slightly the 2nd half of the week and we could have junky conditions. Or we could have high pressure and clean conditions. Take your pick!

Further out, looks like the storms may get more organized if the charts are to be believed, and we may get overhead surf around the 17th. Make sure to keep up to date on the changing waves/weather at Twitter/North County Surf. 

WEATHER:

As mentioned above, our friends to the N have been getting pummeled by rain and snow this week- with more on the way. High pressure below us has been keeping the storm track pushed N and we're just on the fringes with drizzle/showers in southern California. For today we have nice weather and maybe some drizzle tomorrow. Sunday is nice again and then maybe more drizzle/showers Monday. After that the models start to differ- we could get a better shot of rain the 2nd half of the week or we could just be in for drizzle again. Regardless, looks like some cloudy cool weather at least.

BEST BET:
Tuesday if the showers hold off. Or Thursday with bigger swell (if the showers hold off).

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

If you’ve been listening to the news this week, there’s been two things they’ve been talking about- Russian hacking and the atmospheric river. I’ve been tuning out the Russian hacking since it doesn’t affect my surfing (unless of course they tap into the Wavegarden or Kelly’s wavepool- then I’d get pissed). Back to the atmospheric river though; you may have heard it over the years called the Pineapple Express due to the moisture originating towards Hawaii and dumping tons of snow and rain over California resulting in the Donner Party and mudslides in Laguna. For a more detailed explanation though, I’ll let the experts at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration take it from here:  

Atmospheric rivers are relatively long, narrow regions in the atmosphere – like rivers in the sky – that transport most of the water vapor outside of the tropics. These columns of vapor move with the weather, carrying an amount of water vapor roughly equivalent to the average flow of water at the mouth of the Mississippi River. When the atmospheric rivers make landfall, they often release this water vapor in the form of rain or snow.

Although atmospheric rivers come in many shapes and sizes, those that contain the largest amounts of water vapor and the strongest winds can create extreme rainfall and floods, often by stalling over watersheds vulnerable to flooding. These events can disrupt travel, induce mudslides and cause catastrophic damage to life and property. A well-known example is the "Pineapple Express," a strong atmospheric river that is capable of bringing moisture from the tropics near Hawaii over to the U.S. West Coast.

Not all atmospheric rivers cause damage; most are weak systems that often provide beneficial rain or snow that is crucial to the water supply. Atmospheric rivers are a key feature in the global water cycle and are closely tied to both water supply and flood risks — particularly in the western United States.

While atmospheric rivers are responsible for great quantities of rain that can produce flooding, they also contribute to beneficial increases in snowpack. A series of atmospheric rivers fueled the strong winter storms that battered the U.S. West Coast from western Washington to southern California from Dec. 10–22, 2010, producing 11 to 25 inches of rain in certain areas. These rivers also contributed to the snowpack in the Sierras, which received 75 percent of its annual snow by Dec. 22, the first full day of winter.

For the past week here in California, Central and Northern  portions of the state have been getting the lion’s share because high pressure to our S has nudged the atmospheric river N. Portions of San Francisco have received ½ a foot of rain or more while the Sierra’s have received 6 feet or more of snow. And the forecast for them the next few days is more of the same. Down here we received 1/4 inches which didn’t really add to our drought relief but we’re still hovering around 5” for the season; which is 125% of normal for this time of year. Not too shabby.

PIC OF THE WEEK:

The first person who stumbled across this set up must have thought they won the lottery. In the upper right hand corner you've got a right point. As you come down the point, you've got some sort of right/left Lowers type set up. Then the inside of the cove is a right reef and on the other side is a left reef. And for good measure, Neptune has thrown in a deep channel right in the middle of it all. And it looks tropical. And empty. Am I missing anything? How stoked is the person that owns that little beach front property?! Must be the lottery winner.

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn
Easy On The Eyes
Asked To Perform At The Inauguration
Walking Encyclopedia of Surfing