THE Surf Report

Summer is almost here!

SURF:

Ok, TECHNICALLY summer arrived a few days ago, but the clouds haven't fully cleared at the beaches and our water temps are mid-60's. Would be nice to see a little more sunshine AND 70 degree water temps. Is that too much to ask? 

Shouldn't complain though as we had plenty of surf the past 7 days and we're not baking in 120 degree temps like our friends in the desert. Things might take a slight turn for the better this weekend as we've got more SSW headed our way and MAYBE more sun. 

A small storm last weekend in the southern hemisphere will send new swell to our shores Friday afternoon and we're looking at chest high surf with the odd shoulder high set by Saturday. We also have some small NW windswell in the water this weekend so the beachbreaks could be fun. Sunday is back to the waist to chest high range. And hopefully with a touch more sun this weekend (more on that below in the WEATHER section) water temps will rebound to the high 60's. And here's the tides, sun, and water temps for the next few days:

• Sunrise and sunset:
• 5:43 AM sunrise. 
• 8:00 PM sunset. 
• And just like that, the days are getting shorter. Now that we're past the summer solstice, we're headed to a sunrise of 6:47 AM and a sunset of 4:46 PM on December 20th!

• Dropping water temps are what you get when the wind blows NW for a week. After hitting 70 last weekend, we were down to 65 last night. Thankfully we're not Long Beach where it was 59 in the water this morning. I'm hoping the winds are more SW this weekend and we'll at least "Stop The Drop!" (I'm trademarking that slogan FYI). 

• And after seeing extreme high tides in the evenings the past few days, we get to see the opposite this weekend with extreme low tides in the mornings:
• -1.5' at sunrise
• 4' at lunch
• 2' later afternoon
• And back to 4' at sunset

FORECAST:

Most of next week is just background SW groundswell/NW windswell for waist high+ surf and chest high waves towards the OC. 

Models though show a storm taking shape this weekend in the southern hemisphere again and we'll most likely see fireworks July 4th weekend. Fireworks meaning shoulder high surf, not Piccolo Petes or Flowers or Roman Candles or Sparklers... you get my drift. 

WEATHER:

So while the the western states see extremely warm air temps- like 90 in Montana, 100 in Texas, and 125 in Death Valley, we're a comfortable 75 degrees at the beaches of Southern California. So yes, I'm ok now with the lingering low clouds along the coast. Actually cool to see a little bit o' tropical clouds overhead yesterday too. High pressure is set to build again this weekend into next week and temps will rise inland but still be mild at the coast. We SHOULD see a little more sun at the beaches by Monday and most of next week. If anything changes between now and then, make sure to follow me HERE at North County Surf on Twitter!

BEST BET:

Saturday with fun combo swell. And mostly sunny skies by mid-day? And water temps of at least 68? Please?

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

If you haven't guessed by now, my pet peeve is low clouds/fog. Now I'm fine with clouds in general- clouds can develop into storms and storms give us surf, rain, and entertainment (unless you're on the receiving end of a hurricane). But low clouds and fog? Not so much. Not sure what their purpose is. When I go to the beach, I want it to be sunny. Who doesn't? Many a time I've been running errands on a pretty nice little Saturday in June, we're going to go to Home Depot, buying some wallpaper, maybe get some flooring, stuff like that. Maybe Bed, Bath, & Beyond, I don't know, I don't know if we have enough time- but anyway, it's nice and sunny, I feel like I deserve a surf after all my honey-do's. So I run to the beach and hit a WALL- a wall of fog that is. Hopes? Dashed.

Did you know the sunniest months in San Diego are during our late fall/winter? Crazy, huh? Makes sense- we hardly get any rain down here and if we do, storms last a day. The rest of the days in December? Clear and cool. And what we consider 'summer'- May, June, and July? Our cloudiest months. What's the culprit? May Gray and June Gloom of course. Here's PBS to explain:

Tourists arriving in San Diego this month hoping for a vacation on the beach may be sorely disappointed. That’s because of an ugly blend of heavy clouds and cool weather that locals call "June Gloom." The gloom is caused by the combination of cold water and higher pressure in the atmosphere, said Sam Iacobellis, a research specialist at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

"We see this June Gloom and May Gray for a reason," he said. "That’s when the high pressure is pretty strong. This high pressure probably reaches its peak in June and July. And also the water in May and June still hasn’t warmed up to its summer temperature, it’s still pretty much on the cool side."

The cold water and high pressure act together to create what's called a "temperature inversion," Iacobellis said, where cooler air is found closer to the ground and air temperature increases with height. That's the reverse of what you normally find, he said.

Temperature inversions that hang around for awhile make clouds form, he said. But when the air pressure isn't as high, air can mix more, which means fewer clouds. As the sun heats up the air during the day, the warmer air mixes with the clouds and can help break them apart. That's why the gloom often fades away by afternoon.

While San Diego’s beaches have cold water during most of the year, Iacobellis said it’s only in May and June when the atmospheric pressure is high enough to trap clouds so they hover low over the city. That cloud blanket captures the cold air coming off the ocean to create the gloom. "It’s two things acting together and May and June seem to be the time when we get the most amount of these clouds," he said.

Sea breezes that come from the water to the land also help keep the clouds along the coast, he said. After June, the gloom should fade away. But if not, we may need to start using the names “Gray Sky July,” or even, as the science blog The Last Word On Nothing suggests, “Fogust.”

So don't despair! Sunny skies are on their way! 

PIC OF THE WEEK:

California doing its best impression of New Zealand. 

Keep Surfing, 
Michael W. Glenn
Powerhouse
Taking Conan's Time Slot
I'm Having Problems Going Totally Vertical; My Best Is Only 12:01