THE Surf Report

 

Sun = Fun

SURF:

Not the biggest surf this week but the water's warming up and we finally have sun! No complaints. For the weekend, surf will drop slightly but the weather will be great. Friday will have leftover waist high+ S/NW and by Sunday we're left with small waist high surf. And here's the sun/tides/water temps for the weekend:

• Sunrise and sunset this weekend:
• 5:44 AM sunrise 
• 8:01 PM sunset 

• Water temps:
• Not exactly El Nino-like water temps, and this week was slightly below average still, but we are seeing some 67 degree readings. Maybe if the heat wave materializes this weekend, we'll be back to average and 70 by the 4th?

• And tides are pretty mellow this weekend:
• 1' at sunrise
• 3.5' mid-morning
• 2.5' around 2 PM
• and 6.5' at sunset

FORECAST:

After a slow but sunny weekend, we have a few storms on the charts which will give us fun surf next week. 

First up is a new SSW swell arriving late Sunday but will be seen mainly on Monday. Look for chest high sets into Tuesday the 4th. 

After that is a new S swell for waist to chest high surf on Wednesday- and better towards the OC. That should last into Friday. 

In regards to the hurricanes you've probably read about this week- all that NW wind this winter/spring has really made a mess of our water temps- as well as Baja. Temps are cooler than they should be- so the 2 storms on the charts off Mainland Mexico today will meet their demise once they get out from he Baja Peninsula shadow. Don't expect any surf from them- especially with the new SSW swells being dominant. 

After the swells subside late next week, we take a breather for a few days and we may get a real SW swell around here. Why is that important? Because most of the swells this summer have had a steep southerly angle to them which has bypassed most of SD. If we do get that SW, look for shoulder high sets towards July 13th. If anything changes between now and then, make sure to follow North County Surf on Twitter. 

WEATHER:

Adios winter, Graypril, May Gray, and June Gloom. Time to turn those sprinklers on! High pressure is in control and building into the weekend. Look for mainly sunny skies by mid-morning and temps along the coast in the mid to upper 70's. Weak low pressure returns early next week- but don't worry- clouds should burn off by mid-day and temps for the 4th at the beaches will be in the low 70's. In summary, here’s what we have for the upcoming week:

• This weekend: Low clouds in the AM, sunny skies by lunch. Temps 75/62
• Monday through next week: More morning low clouds but sunny afternoons (similar to this past week). Temps 72/60

BEST BET:

4th of July! Fun but small SSW, sunny skies by mid-day, and MAYBE water temps near 70!

NEWS OF THE WEEK:

2023 has been a weird year for surf in SD. After a couple BIG winter swells in January, it's been pretty quiet around here. I don't remember the last time I've surfed a head high wave in town. So what gives? And what's in store for later this summer and beyond? Let's have a look:

• Our winter time weather pattern was dominated by La Nina which basically is high pressure in the Northern Pacific. That SHOULD have resulted in storms from the Aleutians getting pushed into the Pacific NW and leaving us high and dry down here. But the 'La Nina' high pressure this winter was slightly offshore of the West Coast, allowing storms that should have been pushed into Canada, slip down between the high offshore and straight down into California. The result was A LOT of N wind and N windswells. It felt like we were getting East Coast Nor'easters. No big long period groundswells to speak of- just waist to chest high wind bump for months on end. 

• Unfortunately, that winter pattern has continued to influence our water temps this spring and early summer. All that NW wind for months on end resulted in a lot of cold water upwelling, so we've been below average in our water temps this summer. Not by much- just a few degrees. But surfing in a 3/2 fullsuit vs. boardshorts is a big deal to me. The colder than average water temps have also been felt along the Baja California Peninsula which has kept the hurricanes out of our swell window. Things are finally starting to warm up down there, so hopefully we'll see hurricane surf up here by the end of July. 

• And the action in the southern hemisphere hasn't been much better. Unrelated to our cold, windy weather up here, our lack of SW swells this summer has been a bummer- especially for the San Diego region. Normally storms in the Southern Hemisphere form off New Zealand and because the swells are generated SW of us in SD (which faces mainly W or NW), we see a bit of that westerly component from the SW. But high pressure has been parked off New Zealand the past few months, so storms are forming more towards South America. The result? More S swells which are better aimed towards the southerly facing beaches of the OC and LA. 

So when are we going to get out of this rut?! Well, it looks like:

• Our water temps are finally getting a back to normal, so we should see more hurricanes make it to our swell window by the end of July.
• High pressure may be breaking down off New Zealand we SD could see a good SW swell by mid-July.
• And if El Nino continues to build this summer, into fall, and hang around this winter- storms won't get pushed into the Pacific NW, but instead take aim due into CA from the due W. 

PIC OF THE WEEK:

 

California from 20,000'. Almost looks affordable from here. 

Keep Surfing, 
Michael W. Glenn
Cosmopolitan
On Track To Becoming The World's 1st Trillionaire
Just Bought A 4'6" Tri Fin With 32L. Seriously. Wish Me Luck This Summer