Sorry I jinxed the June Gloom. Owe you one.
Why Is It So Foggy in Summer?
The source of the fog is from the marine layer – a shallow layer of clouds that forms over cold air. The cold air comes from the chilly ocean current, which brings cold air from the Gulf of Alaska southward along the West Coast. Typically, this cold air remains off the coast, but as we enter the summer season, intense heating of inland areas, such as the Central Valley and Mojave Desert, sets up a broad area of low pressure known as a thermal low. With relatively higher pressure over the Pacific Ocean, a pressure gradient develops and pushes the cooler and more humid ocean air inland. If this marine layer is deep and moist enough, low clouds and fog are the result.
The marine layer doesn't make much inland progress because inland air is warmer and mixes as it heats up during the day. Even the higher terrain along the coast can be significantly warmer than elevations a few thousand feet lower and closer to the coast. This is because the summertime sun still brings significant heating to much of the atmosphere, but cannot mix down to the chilly Pacific Ocean. This creates an inversion, or an upside-down temperature pattern, in the lower layers of the atmosphere.
Usually, temperatures decrease as you go up higher in the atmosphere, but with the cold Pacific air near the ground and the warm summer sun trying to reach the ground, temperatures increase with height along the California coast. This means mountain peaks can be 20 to 30 degrees warmer than the coast just a few miles away. Farther north, in the San Francisco Bay Area, low clouds and fog are also common in the morning, but strong winds through the Golden Gate Bridge typically mix out the marine layer by the afternoon.
SURF:
After I had said last week it was nice to not see June Gloom this month... June Gloom hit back. My apologies. I'll make it up to you though by flipping the switch on the Emergency Boardriding System! We cool? First up though is Friday morning as we'll have a 0' low tide in the AM, no surf, and June Gloom again. So let's just write that off.
We then have new SW starting to fill in late in the day for waist high surf. On Saturday, the SW fills in a little more for chest high sets. On Sunday... a little more SW for chest high+ surf (notice a trend here)? Still no sun though at the beaches- until late next week. So until then, wait for the surf to pick up late in the weekend and forget about working on that tan. As far as the sun/water temps/tides go, here's what you need to know:
- Sunrise and sunset:
- 5:43 AM sunrise
- 8:01 PM sunset
- If you didn't notice, the days are getting shorter. (Last weekend was 14 hours and 20 minutes of sunlight. This weekend? 14 hours and 18 minutes. Trust me- it's noticeable).
- With the lack of sun and/or a heat wave along the coast, water temps are hovering around 67.
- And tides are a roller coaster this weekend:
- 2' at sunrise
- 0' mid-morning
- 4.5' mid-afternoon
- 3' at sunset
FORECAST:
So here's where the Emergency Boardriding System comes in: That SW swell filling in over the weekend? It fills in more on Monday along with new NW windswell. Look for head high+ surf at the best combo spots. That holds on Tuesday morning and slowly subsides with shoulder high sets on Wednesday. The only caveat is that low pressure system up N (the one making the NW windswell) which may deepen the marine layer even more and give us a touch more SW winds. Then the good stuff starts (like the fun surf earlier in the week isn't good enough).
Forecast charts show a complex SOLID storm off Antarctica this weekend which would give us chest high surf on the afternoon of the 4th, overhead sets by Sunday, another round by Tuesday, and winding down with shoulder high sets by the 9th of July (6 days of surf!) due to this complex storm forming and reforming. My apologies in advance to the lifeguards who have to work the 4th of July weekend. Make sure to check out Twitter/North County Surf if anything changes between now and then.
BEST BET:
Monday/Tuesday with good SW/NW but cloudy conditions. Or the 4th of July weekend and beyond when the fireworks start (I know, bad pun).
WEATHER:
The good news about June Gloom? It's keeping the crowds away from the beaches. The bad news? Looks like it may be gone by the 4th of July weekend and social distancing will be a thing of the past. So until then, look for the clouds to hang around the beaches this weekend, SW winds about 10 mph in the afternoons, and air temps in the high 60's. For early next week, the low pressure system mentioned above will deepen the marine layer (with drizzle even possible) and SW winds to blow in the 15 mph range. High pressure hopefully sets up the 2nd half of next week and I'm looking forward to seeing the sun on the 4th.
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
As reported in last week's THE Surf Report, I spoke about California being an amazing place and that has nothing to do with the diversity of the surf. I'm talking about Death Valley being 120 and the Sierra's being in the 40's- all within a span of 12 hours and a hundred miles. And as you know, here at the coast, it can be almost as extreme due to June Gloom. Most people of course associate June with summertime; sunshine and warm temperatures. And for much of the country, this is typically the weather that occurs in summer's first month. But that isn't the case for parts of the California coast. Here's the Weather Channel to explain:
The culprit along the Golden State's coast is a bank of low clouds and fog that develops during the morning hours, and usually mixes out and erodes during the midday or early in the afternoon. Therefore, it's best to sleep in and wait until the afternoon to head to Southern California's beaches, especially in early summer.
The fog is so common during May and June that it's been aptly named May Gray and June Gloom. San Francisco even has a mascot for it Karl the Fog. (not too catchy)
The fog is so common during May and June that it's been aptly named May Gray and June Gloom. San Francisco even has a mascot for it Karl the Fog. (not too catchy)
Why Is It So Foggy in Summer?
The source of the fog is from the marine layer – a shallow layer of clouds that forms over cold air. The cold air comes from the chilly ocean current, which brings cold air from the Gulf of Alaska southward along the West Coast. Typically, this cold air remains off the coast, but as we enter the summer season, intense heating of inland areas, such as the Central Valley and Mojave Desert, sets up a broad area of low pressure known as a thermal low. With relatively higher pressure over the Pacific Ocean, a pressure gradient develops and pushes the cooler and more humid ocean air inland. If this marine layer is deep and moist enough, low clouds and fog are the result.
"It's worth pointing out that most locations away from the coast, especially more than 10 miles or so inland, do not see nearly the impact as locations along the immediate coast," sys the National Weather Service (NWS). "Conversely, the SoCal beaches will see even less sunshine, on average, than the airport location." The NWS added that May features only 59 percent of possible sunshine and only 58 percent of possible sunshine occurs in June, based on averages at San Diego International Airport.
The marine layer doesn't make much inland progress because inland air is warmer and mixes as it heats up during the day. Even the higher terrain along the coast can be significantly warmer than elevations a few thousand feet lower and closer to the coast. This is because the summertime sun still brings significant heating to much of the atmosphere, but cannot mix down to the chilly Pacific Ocean. This creates an inversion, or an upside-down temperature pattern, in the lower layers of the atmosphere.
Usually, temperatures decrease as you go up higher in the atmosphere, but with the cold Pacific air near the ground and the warm summer sun trying to reach the ground, temperatures increase with height along the California coast. This means mountain peaks can be 20 to 30 degrees warmer than the coast just a few miles away. Farther north, in the San Francisco Bay Area, low clouds and fog are also common in the morning, but strong winds through the Golden Gate Bridge typically mix out the marine layer by the afternoon.
A common sight along the California coast in spring and summer is a coastal eddy, in which the low stratus cloud deck takes on the shape of a hurricane.
"We see them on a regular basis," Jan Null, a Bay Area-based certified consulting meteorologist and former lead forecaster at the NWS in Monterey, California, told weather.com. "During the summer, we'll see at least one a week if there's a stratus field."
April through September is when these types of eddies are very common along the coast of California, the NWS-Monterey said. (And based on my personal observations, June Gloom should be gone by early August).
"We see them on a regular basis," Jan Null, a Bay Area-based certified consulting meteorologist and former lead forecaster at the NWS in Monterey, California, told weather.com. "During the summer, we'll see at least one a week if there's a stratus field."
April through September is when these types of eddies are very common along the coast of California, the NWS-Monterey said. (And based on my personal observations, June Gloom should be gone by early August).
PIC OF THE WEEK:
It's amazing to think that as a kid, I would see photos like this and believe it was unrideable. Until guys like Mason came along that is.
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
In High Demand
Pledging Either Delta Tau Chi, Lambda Epsilon Omega, or Lambda Lambda Lambda
Surfing's Not A Sport, It's A Way Of Life, You Know, A Hobby.
