Raise your hand if you're a fan of winter.
SURF:
We had some junky surf earlier in the week and today we've got just small waist high NW with the odd chest high set towards SD. It's clean though. Things change for the worse (or better depending if you like storm surf or not) tomorrow as the next storm from the Aleutians takes aim at us. Look for strong S winds tomorrow morning and rapidly building mixed up swell. We should have head high sets by sundown.
FORECAST:
After a junky weekend of surf, things start to clean up around here but the surf also departs. By mid-week it should be pretty flat. We do though have some small NW windswell on the charts towards Friday next week.
WEATHER:
It's definitely winter around here. We had a cold front roll through on Tuesday which brought limited showers but junky surf, strong winds, and temps in the low 50's. Since then it's cleaned up but we're still left with temps in the 40's at night and daytime temps struggling to hit the high 50's. We've got more wet weather on the way for tomorrow as a vigorous storm takes aim at us. Look for S winds to increase tomorrow morning in the 20-30 mph range, rainfall up to 1/2", and cold temperatures again. That clears out Sunday with breezy NW winds. Looks like things only warm up slightly next week with sunny skies and temps in the low to mid-60's.
BEST BET:
If you like big junky conditions, then late Saturday into Sunday morning is your call. Or a cleaner but smaller NW/SW combo late in the week.
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
With all the talk of Global Warming and the increased threat of hurricanes, the usually active Atlantic ocean turned out to be a dud this season. No major hurricanes formed in the Atlantic basin which was the first time since 1994. The 2013 Atlantic hurricane season, which officially ends on Saturday, Nov. 30, had the fewest number of hurricanes since 1982, thanks in large part to persistent, unfavorable atmospheric conditions over the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and tropical Atlantic Ocean. This year is expected to rank as the sixth-least-active Atlantic hurricane season since 1950, in terms of the collective strength and duration of named storms and hurricanes. “A combination of conditions acted to offset several climate patterns that historically have produced active hurricane seasons,” said Gerry Bell, Ph.D., lead seasonal hurricane forecaster at NOAA’s Climate Prediction Center, a division of the National Weather Service. “As a result, we did not see the large numbers of hurricanes that typically accompany these climate patterns.” Thirteen named storms formed in the Atlantic basin this year. Two, Ingrid and Humberto, became hurricanes, but neither became major hurricanes. Although the number of named storms was above the average of 12, the numbers of hurricanes and major hurricanes were well below their averages of six and three, respectively. Major hurricanes are categories 3 and above. Tropical storm Andrea, the first of the season, was the only named storm to make landfall in the United States this year. Andrea brought tornadoes, heavy rain, and minor flooding to portions of Florida, eastern Georgia and eastern South Carolina, causing one fatality. The 2013 hurricane season was only the third below-normal season in the last 19 years, since 1995, when the current high-activity era for Atlantic hurricanes began. “This unexpectedly low activity is linked to an unpredictable atmospheric pattern that prevented the growth of storms by producing exceptionally dry, sinking air and strong vertical wind shear in much of the main hurricane formation region, which spans the tropical Atlantic Ocean and Caribbean Sea,” said Bell. “Also detrimental to some tropical cyclones this year were several strong outbreaks of dry and stable air that originated over Africa.” Unlike the U.S., which was largely spared this year, Mexico was battered by eight storms, including three from the Atlantic basin and five from the eastern North Pacific. Of these eight landfalling systems, five struck as tropical storms and three as hurricanes. NOAA and the U.S. Air Force Reserve flew 45 hurricane hunter aircraft reconnaissance missions over the Atlantic basin this season, totaling 435 hours--the fewest number of flight hours since at least 1966. NOAA will issue its 2014 Atlantic Hurricane Outlook in late May, prior to the start of the season on June 1.
BEST OF THE BLOG:
Notice more crowds in the line ups lately? How about all the new home construction popping up. Taking a little bit longer to get a table at your favorite restaurant in north county SD? Blame the media (myself included). Get to the bottom of the story on the North County Surf blog. And of course a mid-week Surf Check and an in-depth THE Surf Report; all of that and more in the blog below!
PIC OF THE WEEK:
With the 2013 Association of Surfing Professionals world title coming down to Pipeline later this month between Mick Fanning and Kelly Slater (and a certain dark horse contender), I thought it was only fitting to have the Pic of the Week be the Banzai Pipeline. And an old school shot at that considering Mick is coming up on 40 and Kelly is almost 60 or something. For more great pics of Pipe, check out the work from one of the all time great photographers Jeff Divine.
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
Final Version
#39 Forbes' Richest List
Dark Horse for 2013 ASP World Title
