NW Swell This Week

Monday, April 9, 2007 | Today we have a good amount of NW swell along the California coast with a touch of southern hemi SW. We’re still on track for that strong south swell this week, and we’ll be seeing quite a bit of NW this week as well. It looks like we might have some nasty winds by Thursday though, some slight precipitation chances are in the forecast, and the tide will become an issue by the end of the week.

Right now, the California Buoy is checking in at 6 feet with 11-second periods, half of what it was 12 hours ago (a decreasing trend that’ll affect the coast Monday). Closer to the coast, the Half Moon Bay buoy is at 8 feet with 11-second periods, and the Cape San Martin buoy is at 8 feet with 13-second periods.

Overall, the predominant swell energy in the water shows WNW periods averaging 13 seconds from 285 degrees and SW periods running 17 seconds from 215-230 degrees.

In SoCal, wave heights are running chest to head high at most west facing breaks with some overhead set waves at standouts. South facing breaks though are mostly benefiting from NW diffraction, running waist to chest. Also, due to the angle of the incoming NW swell, island blockage is affecting the OC region today.

Northern California and the Central Coast are seeing sets running a few feet overhead to DOH around west facing breaks. South facing breaks picking up the wrapped diffraction are running chest to at times head high.

Please note that the NW swell has some consistency to it. As a result there is a risk of riptides today, especially at direct west facing beach breaks, and especially during the outgoing tides. Alongshore currents are also a concern. The NWS has issued a riptide warning as well. Caution is advised.

The tide is fairly workable now, despite some near-zero lows. By the end of the week though we’ll be seeing a tidal swing due to a New Moon due on the 17th. This will start bringing…[more]

Water temperatures are averaging 59 degrees in San Diego, 58 in Orange County, 59 in LA, 57 in Ventura County, 57 in Santa Barbara, 54 along the Central Coast and 51 degrees in NCal.

Winds as of 8:00 this morning were light and variable most everywhere with the exception of some light, eddy texture in some areas. Afternoon onshores are expected to reach 8-12 mph, but could become a bit stronger by evening. And then things begin to change…[more]

Strong south swell Tuesday, Wednesday…[more]

Plenty of NW on the charts this week…[more]

Wind, weather and tide issues this week…[more]

Small southern hemis on the radar…[more]