THE Surf Report- Early Edition

Bring on the weekend!

SURF:
Just when you thought May Gray was going to steamroll into June Gloom- high pressure set up shop today and you could swear August was knocking on the door.

As far as our surf the past few days, there wasn't much on tap except for consistent NW windswell and smaller SW.

Today things cleaned up and for the weekend we have some small NW windswell in the water and a slight bump from the SW on Saturday. That will give most spots chest high+ surf. Nothing major but with the great weather, it will wash your troubles away (just not the sharks- but it seems like there's been less sightings lately thank goodness).

Water temps are inching up slightly to 64 and tides the next few days are about 3' at sunrise, down to 0' around lunch, and back up to 4' at sunset.

FORECAST:
After a fun little weekend of surf, it's more of the same to start the work week- except the NW will back off.

We have little pulses of SW all week for more waist to chest high waves and a return of low clouds.

Models show a small late season NW towards Thursday for chest high waves and then a shot of chest high SW around the 29th. In summary, fun little waves the next week but that's about it. Make sure to keep up to date on any new swells at Twitter/North County. 

WEATHER:

We're finally due for some summer-like weather around here. After weeks of May Gray (clouds, cold, drizzle, S wind, you know- crummy), we finally have high pressure large and in charge. Look for temps near 80 tomorrow at the beach and light winds. That lasts into Saturday and most likely into Sunday. A weak trough develops off our coast early next week and we're back to low clouds/fog and cooler temps. So get out this weekend and enjoy it people!

BEST BET:
This weekend with fun combo swell and fantastic weather.

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

Just heard the new Charger stadium in L.A. has been delayed a year due to all the rain this winter. So sorry to hear that. Sniff. But that's a 1st world problem (for the 7 Charger fans in L.A.). What about real storms and real destruction? Like a tropical cyclone in Bangladesh that killed 300,000 people in 1970? The USA Today recently reported that storm was officially declared the world's all-time deadliest weather event, according to the the World Meteorological Organization. The agency, part of the United Nations, also identified which tornado, lightning strike and hailstorm resulted in the highest death tolls.

“Knowing exactly how bad various types of weather have been in the past is an integral part of preparing for the future,” said geographer Randy Cerveny of Arizona State University, who led the committee that made the determinations. "As the old saying goes, 'Those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it.' "

The horrific death toll in the 1970 tropical cyclone — the same type of storm as a hurricane — was mostly due to a large storm surge that overwhelmed the islands and tidal flats along the shores of the Bay of Bengal.

“In today’s world, it seems like the latest weather disaster is the worst,” Cerveny said. “I have often heard since 2005 that Hurricane Katrina was the deadliest tropical cyclone or hurricane to have ever occurred." But Katrina killed more than 2,000 people and "pales in comparison" to the 1970 cyclone in Bangladesh, he said.

Bangladesh (or East Pakistan) has endured four cyclones that killed 100,000 or more people, according to the nation's meteorological department (read that sentence again- nuts). By comparison, the USA's deadliest hurricane slammed into Galveston, Texas, in 1900, killing 8,000 people.

The world's deadliest tornado on record also struck Bangladesh, according to the WMO report (what the hell is with Bangladesh)? The twister, which carved a path a mile wide and 10 miles long, hit the nation's Manikganj district on April 29, 1989, killing about 1,300 people. More than 12,000 people were injured and 80,000 left homeless.

Two separate events were listed in the lightning category: The deadliest "indirect" lightning strike occurred in Dronka, Egypt, on Nov. 2, 1994, when a bolt hit fuel storage tanks, igniting a massive fire that killed 469 people (that's straight of a Fast & Furious movie. Seriously). The highest death toll from a single lightning strike came from a bolt that killed 21 people in a hut in Zimbabwe on Dec. 23, 1975.

The deadliest hailstorm occurred April 30, 1888, near Moradabad, India, when as many as 246 people were killed by hailstones as large as goose eggs, oranges and cricket balls. An eyewitness said “men caught in the open and without shelter were simply pounded to death by the hail," the WMO reported. "More than one marriage party were caught by the storm near the banks of the river, and were annihilated."

Extreme weather's ability to cause major destruction and loss of life fuels the organization's efforts to learn lessons from previous disasters and improve early warning systems, said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas. "The human aspect inherent in extreme events should never be lost," he added. "One aspect of the ongoing discussion and exploration of climate change is the increased mortality threat of climate change on the planet’s human population," the report said. "As world population continues to grow along with change in global climate, a greater portion of humanity is threatened by a multitude of climate and weather phenomena.”

The report did not list the deadliest heat wave, cold snap, drought or flood, but the agency said it hopes to make those determinations in the future. The full report appeared in the journal Weather, Climate and Society, a publication of the American Meteorological Society.

PIC OF THE WEEK:

I could use some of this right now. Actually, all the time.

Keep Surfing,

Michael W. Glenn
Not Good, But GREAT
Dr. Says I Have A Case Of Senioritis
Only Surfer to Win MVP of the IPS, ASP, and WSL