Nor Cal comes to So Cal.
SURF:
Wild and wooly out there today as a late season cold front
sweeps through the region.
Lots of NW wind has brought overhead NW windswell.
Not really rideable unless your desperate (like me). Fortunately the winds back
off over the weekend but the swell drops with it. Look for shoulder high waves
on Friday, chest high surf on Saturday, and waist high+ swell on Sunday.
Water
temps are 60 and tides this weekend are 2.5’ at sunrise, up to 4.5’ mid-morning,
down to 0’ late afternoon, and back up to 4’ at sunset. Make sure to keep up to
date on the waves and weather at Twitter/North County Surf.
FORECAST:
Monday starts off slow before another weak front moves into
the area and kicks up our NW windswell again for head high+ surf by Tuesday-
and breezy conditions.
Wednesday drops to the chest high range and then yet
another NW windswell with a little more kick arrives for Friday with overhead
surf- along with windy conditions again.
And then… forecast charts show more NW
swell for around the 23rd- but I’m not sure about the conditions
that far out. But I’m going to take a wild guess and say it will be windy
again. As far as the southern hemisphere goes, there really hasn’t been a lot
of organized activity down there pointed our way. Plus all of our NW windswell would
just make a mess of it.
WEATHER:
Off and on cold fronts this past week will lead to more off
and on cold fronts next week. No rain to speak of but cooler temps and blustery
conditions. Luckily for us the weekend looks to calm down and we have temps in
the mid-70’s and sunny skies. Then another weak front moves through late Monday/Tuesday
for wind, clouds, and temps in the mid-60’s. Wednesday is a transition day then
another front comes through late Thursday/Friday for clouds/wind. Basically
spring weather with another 9 weeks before summer arrives.
BEST BET:
Tomorrow (Friday) with leftover NW windswell and cleaner
conditions in the AM. Or… a poor man’s version of Nor-Cal next week with strong
NW winds and windswell to boot Tuesday and Thursday and again? towards the 23rd.
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
When we think of weather disasters, hurricanes always seem
to top the list. But for 2018 the U.S. has already started out with a bang with
$3 billion in damage and we’re still months away from the start of the hurricane
season. In just the first three months of this year, the U.S. has experienced
three weather and climate disasters with losses exceeding $1 billion each.
These included a severe storm in the Southeast and two winter storms in the
central and eastern U.S. that caused the deaths of at least 34 people and had
significant negative economic impacts. I’ll let the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration dive deeper to see how March 2018 and the year to
date fared in terms of the climate record:
Climate by the numbers, March 2018:
The average March temperature across the contiguous U.S. was
42.6 degrees F, 1.1 degrees above average, and ranked near the middle of the
124-year record, according to scientists from NOAA’s National Centers for
Environmental Information. The month brought below-average temperatures to
parts of the East Coast, Northern High Plains and West, and above-average
temperatures across the south-central U.S. and parts of New England and the
Upper Midwest.
The precipitation total for the month was 2.42 inches (0.09
of an inch below average), which also ranked near the middle of the record.
Above-average precipitation was observed across parts of the West, Northern
Rockies and Plains, Midwest and South, while below-average precipitation
occurred across parts of Northwest, Southwest, Great Lakes, Southeast and East
Coast.
Year to date | January-March 2018:
The average U.S. temperature for the year to date (January
through March) was 36.8 degrees F, 1.6 degrees above average, placing it among
the warmest third of the climate record. This was the coldest start of the year
for the nation since 2014. Precipitation for the year to date totaled 7.13
inches, 0.17 inches below normal, which ranked near the middle of the
record.
Other notable climate events:
Nor’easters slammed the Northeast in March: In just one
month, four strong winter storms, known as nor’easters, hit the East and
brought heavy snow and cold conditions to parts of the Midwest and from the
Southern Appalachians to New England. Some locations in the East had more snow
during March than during the preceding winter months combined. Numerous
locations had a top-five March snowfall total including Boston, Albany and
Philadelphia.
Deadly storms hit the Gulf Coast: A severe storm system
brought damaging winds, hail and tornadoes to the Southeast in mid-March. Over
20 tornadoes were reported in Alabama. Total damages exceeded $1 billion and at
least 3 people died.
Northern Alaska basked in record warmth: The average March
temperature for Alaska was 17.7 degrees F, 6.9 degrees above the long-term
average. This tied with 1996 for the ninth warmest March in the 94-year period
of record for the state. Northern and western Alaska were much warmer than
average, with near-average temperatures in southern Alaska. Utqiaġvik (Barrow)
had its warmest March and year to date on record.
Drought intensified in parts of U.S.: By the end of March,
about 29 percent of the Lower 48 states were in drought, down from 31 percent
at the end of February. Drought conditions worsened across the Central Plains,
Southwest and coastal Southeast, and improved in parts of the West, Great
Plains and interior Southeast.
And if you’re wondering, researchers expect the 2018
Atlantic Hurricane season to be above average so the damage will most likely
continue to pile up this year…
PIC OF THE WEEK:
Not sure what that person is waiting for. A watched pot
never boils. Or is he watching those pits on the boil? I think I’m confused.
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
Baller
Filthy Rich Because I Print My Own Money
Loooooooong Shot Title Contender
