February is a distant memory.
SURF:
Remember all that great surf we had way back in February? That was like what- 3 or 4 months ago it seems? Good times.
This past week saw some nice weather but only waist high+ NW with a touch of SW.
This weekend we get a small bump of NW windswell late Saturday for chest high waves but a weak cold front moving by to the N may make it a little bumpy in the afternoon. For Sunday, the NW will be dropping but offshore winds are forecasted in the AM. My take? Get it early Sunday. Here's the tide, sun, and water temps for you:
- Sunrise and sunset are giving us almost 12 hours of surfing time:
- 6:18 AM sunrise (crack it at 6 AM!)
- 5:45 PM sunset (paddle in at 6 PM!)
- Water temps are 58 and feel colder than that
- And tides are extreme this weekend:
- 4' at sunrise
- 6' mid-morning
- -1' late afternoon
- 1' at sunset
FORECAST:
Not much to start the work/school week as we've just got waist high SW for Monday/Tuesday and a couple better waves in the OC.
Wednesday, another weak front moves to the N of us and we'll be back to chest high NW surf late Wednesday and breezy afternoon winds. What does that mean for Thursday? You guessed it- dropping NW swell and offshore conditions.
BUT... models showed a better S swell taking shape a couple days ago which would give us chest high sets on Thursday too. After that, the Pacific seems to doze off so next weekend may be small again.
BEST BET:
Sunday morning with small but clean NW or late next Wednesday/early Thursday with more NW and better SW.
WEATHER:
If you haven't guessed already, this is turning out to be one of the driest February on records. Not a big fan of watering my lawn in the middle of winter. It's like wearing a jacket in San Diego in August. Inconceivable! As mentioned above, we have a weak cold front moving by to the N on Saturday which will kick up the winds at the coast in the 20 MPH range and a little more clouds overhead. Sunday and into early next week we'll have sunny skies and temps in the high 60's. Another weak front makes its way into Northern California on Wednesday and we get more winds/clouds down here and cooler temps; forecast charts do show a small chance of light showers but don't get excited. And the 2nd half of next week? More sun and mild temps. Make sure to check out Twitter/North County Surf if anything changes between now and then.
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
I know we should feel fortunate that we're not dealing with floods or freezing temps, but I'm not a big fan of wildfires either. This La Nina is really kicking our butts. As it stands now, models are showing that we've only got a 20% chance of getting us back to our average of 10" of rain for the winter. But anything can happen of course.
Don't forget April 11th last year when a storm capped a six-day period that brought tremendous amounts of rain to the region. Palomar Mountain received at least 8.40 inches of rain while more than 7 inches fell in Encinitas, and 3.5 inches hit San Diego International Airport. That's unlikely of course, but you never know in this wacky world. So where do we stand as of today for precipitation?
- Newport Beach: 3.23" of rain or 34% of normal (9.63") and we're aiming for a seasonal total of 13.3"
- Oceanside: 3.31" of rain or 36% of normal (9.27") and we're aiming for a seasonal total of 13.66"
- San Diego: 2.88" of rain or 40% of normal (7.12") and we're aiming for a seasonal total of 10.34"
But it's still winter around here- why do we only have a 20% chance of getting back to our normal seasonal rainfall target? Well unfortunately, our 3 wettest months should be January, February, and March with around 2.25" each month. Since January and February are in the rearview mirror, that leaves March to do all the work and that's asking a lot. By the time we hit April, we won't see over an inch of rain on average until November. Long story short- start conserving water now.
PIC OF THE WEEK:
I know everyone has been anxiously waiting for Disneyland to re-open and rightfully so- who doesn't love the Dumbo ride, seeing a goat with dynamite in it's mouth on Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, those yummy churros, and families in matching outfits. But let's be honest- THIS is the happiest place on earth. And no Fast Pass required.
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
I've Arrived
Working On Getting Kim & Kanye Back Together
Chairman Of My Board
