THE Surf Report

 

Spring Break! 

SURF:

For those of you college whippersnappers that went to San Felipe, Daytona Beach, or South Padre Island for Spring Break, shame on you. For those of you that decided to go to North County San Diego instead, you obviously are graduating with honors. Where else would you rather be this week?! 

Great weather, great surf, and, um, do you need anything else? Today the Santa Ana weather kicked in and we had great surf from a dying NW and building SW. 

For Friday, look for more great weather and more great SW swell while the NW tapers off. Waves at best combo spots will be shoulder high. 

On Saturday, the weather returns to normal with low clouds/fog returning in the night/mornings but the NW windswell will pick up again while the SW groundswell lingers for shoulder high waves. Sunday will drop slightly as both swells start to fade. And here's the tides, sun, and water temps for the next few days:

• Sunrise and sunset:
• 6:25 AM sunrise
• 7:15 PM sunset  

• Water temps are in the low 60's.

• And tides are simple this weekend:
• 3' at sunrise
• 0' midday
• back to 3' at sunset

FORECAST:

Monday the SW is just a shell of its former self but we do have a small NW windswell filling in. Most spots towards SD will be chest high. Models are then showing a very weak cold front moving through the region late Monday into Tuesday for a chance of drizzle! I know, exciting. 

Winds will pick up Monday afternoon into Tuesday and if the forecast is correct, we'll see head high+ bumpy messed up NW windswell. 

Wednesday should be clean as the NW backs off and new SW fills in for head high surf- could be an Emergency Boardriding System day. The 2nd half of the week will have more good SW for head high sets and not much NW windswell. 

WEATHER:

I would say 'typical spring weather' if it wasn't for this Santa Ana weather. But I guess we'll have to make lemonade out of lemons and just enjoy it then. Once the weather cools down by late Saturday, look for temps in the low 70's by Sunday and night/morning low clouds/fog. Monday is cloudy with temps in the mid-60's and Tuesday may see some sprinkles early in the day and breezy conditions. Weak high pressure looks to set up shop the 2nd half of next week with sunnier skies and cool temps. If anything changes between now and then, make sure to follow North County Surf on Twitter!

BEST BET:

Get it this weekend, not so much Monday/Tuesday, and get it again the 2nd half of next week! 

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

Let's not beat around the bush- San Diego's rainy season is over. Even though it runs from October 1st to September 30th, the majority of our rain falls between the 6 month period of November to April (roughly 9.5"). For the remaining 6 months of May to October, we only get a paltry 1" on average. So as you can see, we shouldn't expect a deluge again until next winter. 

Another fun fact about rainfall is that the general rule of thumb when describing a desert is that it receives no more than 10" per year. As you can see, San Diego is just barely above that cut off line of 10.5". And when you have multiple years of drought the past 2 decades- you can pretty much consider us a desert (hello Phoenix)! In particular, here's the last decade of rainfall in San Diego:

• 2021 = 5.24" (yikes)
• 2020 = 13.6" (respectable)
• 2019 = 12.93" (better than average)
• 2018 = 3.34" (yikes x 2)
• 2017 = 12.73" (better than average again)
• 2016 = 8.18" (not good)
• 2015 = 11.91" (slightly better than average)
• 2014 = 5.09" (yikes x 3)
• 2013 = 6.55" (I give up)
• 2012 = 7.9" (I give up again)
• 10 year average you ask? Just 8.75" of rainfall.

As you can see, out of the last 10 years, we've been below average in rainfall 6 of those years. And what the heck- you can throw in this season too since San Diego is only at 6.07" of rain- that makes it 7 out of the last 11 years we've felt like a desert. If we look at the past 2+ decades (2000 to present), 16 of the 22 years have been below average. So we have a bit of a problem here. Conserving water and desalination plants will help, but we need to find a solution to the wildfire threat. 

PIC OF THE WEEK:

I'll give you one guess on where this is. You're correct! New Zealand! Wow you're good. 

Keep Surfing, 
Michael W. Glenn
Wow Factor
Getting A Signature Shoe
Waves Is My Middle Name