I Fume As I Presume June Gloom Will Continue To Loom...
SURF:
This past week was shaping up to be sunny with heaps of waves but alas only 1 prediction came true. There's a reason they call it May Gray and June Gloom- even though I'm the eternal optimist. But we did have surf! Most beaches around town had shoulder high+ surf and the OC of course got the lion's share with overhead waves. Today the SSW was winding down but for Friday we'll still have chest high waves and head high surf in the OC.
Saturday is waist to chest high and Sunday is the same but we'll have some NW windswell mixing in as the SSW fades away. And unfortunately- looks like the sun will play hide and seek all weekend. Maybe we'll see the sun in July? Maybe? And here's the tides, sun, and water temps for the next few days:
- Sunrise and sunset:
- 5:41 AM sunrise. On that note, this is the earliest the sun will come up until the longest day of the year- June 21st. And on June 22nd... it will start to rise later at 5:42 AM.
- 7:54 PM sunset. On that note too... we've got 2 more weeks of the sun staying out later until we hit June 21st where at 8 PM it will be the latest we'll see the sun stay out.
- And for you die hard surfers out there, the sun comes up at 5:07 AM and sets at 9:22 PM in Vancouver. That's 16.25 hours of surfing. You could paddle out at 4:45 AM and paddle in at 9:45 PM. 17 hours. Nuts!
- Due to the persistent W winds and lack of sun, water temps are now back to 63-65. Get the 3/2 on again!
- And the tides don't move much this weekend:
- 3.5' at sunrise
- 1.5' at lunch
- 5' at dinner
- 4' at sunset
FORECAST:
Not much on tap next week. We've got leftover NW on Monday with small SW for waist high surf- and that's about it all week. Charts show some storms taking shape off Antarctica the next few days so we may get shoulder high+ SW again mid-month. As far as the tropics go, Tropical Storm Blanca was a dud with only 65 mph winds but we're still early in the hurricane season so keep the faith!
WEATHER:
Guess what the temp in Death Valley was today? C'mon, take a guess. Correct! 119 degrees! Not as hot as last year's 129 degrees, but pretty darn hot nonetheless. But there's still time this summer. How about at the coast here? Mid-60's and mostly cloudy. Yawn. Better than 119 I guess. And if you think about it, the desert today was roughly twice the temperature as the coast. Unreal. So what's on tap for next week? More of the same- temps in the mid-60's along the coast and mostly cloudy. Yawn. If anything changes between now and then, make sure to follow North County Surf on Twitter here!
BEST BET:
Friday with leftover smaller SSW.
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Unless you're a tiger shark. In contrast to other species, tiger sharks revel in the chaos caused by hurricanes, according to a new study published last month in the online edition of the journal Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science...
One of the ocean's foremost predators, the sharks take their name from their distinctive patterning. While neither as massive as great whites nor as alarming in appearance as hammerheads, they are responsible for a significant percentage of the attacks and deaths recorded annually, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. But that's only half the story with these swimmers of our oceans. A recent study found tiger sharks are attracted to, rather than repelled, by the turbulent weather conditions the massive storms create. Many marine animals, including dolphins, flee at the first sign of high seas and strong winds, but tiger sharks stick around, according to The Scientist.
This aspect of their behavior has been a source of fascination to the study authors since 2017. During a research expedition in September of that year, study author Neil Hammerschlag and colleagues noted nurse sharks, bull sharks, and hammerhead sharks responded differently to the arrival of Hurricane Irma in Miami than tiger sharks had to the arrival of Hurricane Matthew in the Bahamas 11 months before. The nine nurse sharks, three bull sharks and seven hammerhead sharks the researchers were tracking fled the area before Irma hit, but the 12 tiger sharks remained even as Matthew battered the ocean floor. In fact, tiger shark detections doubled in the days and weeks immediately following the hurricane.
One of the ocean's foremost predators, the sharks take their name from their distinctive patterning. While neither as massive as great whites nor as alarming in appearance as hammerheads, they are responsible for a significant percentage of the attacks and deaths recorded annually, according to the Florida Museum of Natural History. But that's only half the story with these swimmers of our oceans. A recent study found tiger sharks are attracted to, rather than repelled, by the turbulent weather conditions the massive storms create. Many marine animals, including dolphins, flee at the first sign of high seas and strong winds, but tiger sharks stick around, according to The Scientist.
This aspect of their behavior has been a source of fascination to the study authors since 2017. During a research expedition in September of that year, study author Neil Hammerschlag and colleagues noted nurse sharks, bull sharks, and hammerhead sharks responded differently to the arrival of Hurricane Irma in Miami than tiger sharks had to the arrival of Hurricane Matthew in the Bahamas 11 months before. The nine nurse sharks, three bull sharks and seven hammerhead sharks the researchers were tracking fled the area before Irma hit, but the 12 tiger sharks remained even as Matthew battered the ocean floor. In fact, tiger shark detections doubled in the days and weeks immediately following the hurricane.
"I was amazed to see that big tiger sharks didn't evacuate even as the eye of the hurricane was bearing down on them. It was as if they didn't even flinch," Hammerschlag said, according to a University of Miami press release.
While the researchers haven't officially identified a cause, they speculate tiger sharks, which eat almost anything that crosses their path, may seize the opportunity to feed on carrion.
They "were probably taking advantage of all the new scavenging opportunities from dead animals that were churned up in the storm," Hammerschlag told The Scientist, adding the sharks will dine on everything from "sea birds to sea turtles to dolphins to fish to other sharks."
Their bulk may also enable them to ride out hurricanes safely, Hammerschlag said. Both tigers and hammerheads can reach a similar maximum length. However, tigers outweigh hammerheads by a significant margin, making them more physically sturdy.
"They're built like tanks," Hammerschlag told WUSF Public Media. "They're robust, they're strong, and they don't get stressed out. If they're not getting too stressed out, then why flee? Why evacuate if it's going to take energy and time?"
The results of the study potentially forecast changes in shark behavior in the future because climate change is expected to spawn more hurricane activity.
PIC OF THE WEEK:
Who says point breaks have all the fun?!
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
Mind Like A Steel Trap
Doing My Part And Ride A Hot Air Balloon To Work
Sold The Naming Rights To Swamis And It's Now Called Amazon Point Presented By Fed Ex
Michael W. Glenn
Mind Like A Steel Trap
Doing My Part And Ride A Hot Air Balloon To Work
Sold The Naming Rights To Swamis And It's Now Called Amazon Point Presented By Fed Ex
