Pacific Storm & Surf Forecast (Stormsurf)

Buoy 238 (Barbers Pt)/Buoy 239 (Lani): Seas were 6.1 ft @ 15.4 secs with swell 4.1 ft @ 14.8 secs from 315 degrees. Water temp 77.2 degs (Barbers Pt), 76.6 (Pearl Harbor 233), 77.4 (Lani 239).
Buoy 106 (Waimea): Seas were 11.6 ft @ 14.3 secs with swell 7.9 ft @ 13.4 secs from 309 degrees. Water temp 77.2 degs.
Buoy 46025 (Catalina RDG): Seas were 5.8 ft @ 5.9 secs with swell 2.4 ft @ 14.0 secs from 177 degrees. Wind east at 10-14 kts. Water temperature 56.7 degs, 56.5 (Topanga 103), 57.2 degs (Long Beach 215), 57.6 (Oceanside Offshore 045), 57.0 (Del Mar 153), 57.7 (Torrey Pines Outer 100). At Harvest Buoy (071) primary swell was 4.7 ft @ 14.9 secs from 279 degrees. At Santa Monica (028) swell was 2.4 ft @ 15.6 secs from 247 degrees. At Oceanside (045) swell was 2.0 ft @ 15.9 secs from 218 degrees. Southward at Pt Loma (191) swell was 3.4 ft @ 16.6 secs from 248 degrees. Water temperate was 58.5 degrees.
Buoy 46012 (Half Moon Bay)/029 (Pt Reyes): Seas were 6.5 ft @ 12.8 secs with swell 5.2 ft @ 13.4 secs from 292 degrees. Wind northeast at 2-4 kts. Water temp 53.4 (Bodega Bay 46013), 53.6 degs (Pt Reyes 029), 53.2 (San Francisco 46026), 53.4 (SF Bar 142), 53.2 (Pt Santa Cruz 254) and 54.5 (Monterey Bay 46042).

PACIFIC OVERVIEW
Current Conditions
On Thursday (1/26) North and Central CA had sets at 7-9 ft on the face at top spots and 2-3 ft overhead otherwise and lined up and clean with good form and light offshore winds. Protected breaks were 1-2 ft overhead and lined up and clean with offshore wind but mostly closed out. At Santa Cruz surf was chest to near head high and clean and lined up but fairly soft. In Southern California/Ventura waves were chest to shoulder high and lined up with good form and peeling but with hard east winds making it difficult to ride. Central Orange County had sets at head high or so and lined up but with very hard east winds. South Orange County's best summertime breaks were waist high and clean and lined up but soft and inconsistent with light offshore winds. North San Diego had sets at chest to shoulder high and lined up and clean with decent form and light offshore winds. Hawaii's North Shore had sets at 10 ft Hawaiian and lined up but pretty tattered from northerly wind even early. The South Shore had some thigh high sets with decent form but soft and and textured from southwest wrap around wind. The East Shore had waist high windswell but chopped from brisk north wind.

See QuikCASTs for the 5 day surf overview or read below for the detailed view.

Meteorological Overview
On Thursday (1/26) California was getting the tail end of the Eddie swell generated by Storm #3 that developed on the dateline Fri-Sat (1/21) with up to 46 ft seas aimed east then moved into the Northwestern Gulf on Sun (1/22) while fading with seas 35 ft. Hawaii was getting swell from another small gale that developed right behind off North Japan on Sun (1/22) falling southeast to the dateline on Mon (1/23) with 37 ft seas aimed southeast then fading. Another broad system was developing off Japan Wed-Fri (1/27) with seas to 37 ft over a broad area but not expected to make it to the dateline. Another quick system is to follow off Kamchatka on Sat (1/28) with 44 ft seas aimed briefly east. After that a far weaker storm track is forecast as the jetstream unravels.

SHORT- TERM FORECAST
Current marine weather and wave analysis plus forecast conditions for the next 72 hours

Overview
Jetstream
On Thursday (1/26) the jetstream was consolidated pushing off Japan at 160 kts running east on the 35N latitude line to the dateline then splitting with a gentle trough developing mid-day to the dateline offering some support for gale formation. The split flow over the Eastern half of the North Pacific Gulf was supporting high pressure development. Over the next 72 hours winds to build in the jet to 180 kts on Sat (1/28) feeding development of a new trough there with the trough lifting north fast and north of the Aleutians on Mon (1/30) no longer supporting gael formation. The split point is to hold near the dateline. Beyond 72 hours wind energy in the jet is to weaken more with the jet splitting half way to the dateline from Japan by Wed (2/1) with a weak and split flow over the majority of the North Pacific offering no real support for gale formation. The Inactive Phase of the MJO is the culprit.

Surface Analysis
On Thursday (1/26) swell from Storm #3 was fading along the US West Coast (see Storm #3 below). And swell was hitting Hawaii from a gale that formed off Japan (see Japan Gale below).

Over the next 72 hours another gale started building just off Japan on Wed AM (1/25) producing a broad fetch of west winds at 40-45 kts streaming off Japan and the southern Kuril Islands with seas 26-27 ft roughly at 40N 160E aimed east. In the evening a broad fetch of west winds were blowing at 45 kts pushing off Japan with seas building to 32 ft at 40.25N 154.75E aimed east. On Thurs AM (1/26) west winds were 40 kts streaming off the Kuril Islands and North Japan with seas 37 ft at 44.75N 160E aimed east. Fetch is to be lifting north in the evening at 30-35 kts just off the North Kuril Islands with seas 29-30 ft at 49N 167E aimed east. On Fri AM (1/27) fetch is to be fading from 30-35 kts just off the Kamchatka with seas fading from 23 ft over a broad area at 48N 173E aimed east. Something to monitor.

Oahu: Swell arriving late on Sun (1/29) with pure swell building to 4.2 ft @ 17 secs (7.0 ft). Swell holds on Mon (1/30) at 4.3 ft @ 16 secs early (6.5 ft). Swell fading on Tues (1/31) from 2.6 ft @ 14 secs (3.5 ft) early. Swell Direction: 312 degrees

North CA: Expect swell arrival on Tues (1/31) building to 3.9 ft @ 17 secs later (6.5 ft) and super inconsistent. Swell peaking early Wed (2/1) at 4.1 ft @ 15-16 secs early (6.0 ft). Residuals on Thurs (2/2) fading from 2.6 ft @ 13-14 secs (3.5 ft). Swell Direction: 292 degrees

Storm #3
Another storm developed west of the dateline on Thurs AM (1/19) with 45 kt northwest winds and seas building from 25 ft at 34.5N 161E aimed east. In the evening fetch was building in coverage and strength fast from 45 kts from the northwest over a good sized area approaching the Southern Dateline with seas 26 ft at 36.25N 169E aimed east and southeast. On Fri AM (1/20) northwest winds were 50-55 kts and seas 33 ft at 37N 177.5E aimed east and southeast. In the evening the storm tracked east with 50-55 kt northwest winds and seas building to 41 ft at 37N 175.5W aimed southeast. The gale stalled some Sat AM (1/21) with a broad fetch of 45-50 kts northwest winds and seas 46 ft at 39.25N 170W aimed southeast and east. In the evening the storm rise northeast with 45 kt west winds over a solid area and seas 39 ft at 38.25N 163W aimed east. On Sun AM (1/22) the gale was fading while lifting northeast over the Northwestern Gulf with 40-45 kt west winds and seas fading from 38 ft at 45.5N 162.5W aimed east. Fetch fading in the evening from 35-40 kts in the Northwestern Gulf with seas fading from 37 ft at 49.5N 157.75W aimed east.

North CA: Residuals fading on Thurs (1/26) from 3.9 ft @ 14 secs (5.5 ft). Swell Direction: 282-292 degrees

Southern CA: Swell fading on Thurs (1/26) from 2.2 ft @ 15 secs (3.0 ft). Swell Direction: 289-298 degrees

Japan Gale
On Sun AM (1/22) another gale developed off North Japan with 40-45 kt northwest winds and seas building from 32 ft over a small area at 40N 162.5E aimed east. In the evening 40-45 kt northwest winds were sweeping southeast approaching the dateline with seas 33 ft at 37N 170E aimed southeast over a small area. On Mon AM (1/23) west winds continued at 40-45 kts over the dateline with seas 39 ft at 37.25N 177.75E aimed southeast. Fetch was fading in the evening from 35 kts just east of the dateline with 32 ft seas at 34.25N 177W aimed east. Fetch faded on Tues AM (1/24) on the dateline at 30-35 kts with seas fading from 25 ft at 35N 170W aimed east. Residual fetch held into the evening northwest of Hawaii at 35 kts with seas fading from 24 ft at 32N 170W aimed southeast. Something to monitor.

Oahu: Expect swell arrival on Thurs (1/26) building to 8.3 ft @ 14-15 secs early (12 ft) more of less holding through the day. Swell fading on Fri (1/27) from 6.4 ft @ 12-13 secs (8.0 ft). Residuals on Sat (1/28) fading from 4.5 ft @ 11 secs (5.0 ft). Swell Direction: 320 moving to 335 degrees.

North CA: Expect swell arrival on Fri (1/27) building to 3.6 ft @ 17 secs later (6.0 ft). Swell fading on Sat (1/28) from 3.5 ft @ 15 secs (5.0 ft) with northwest windswell intermixed. Residuals on Sun (1/29) fading from 2.5 ft @ 13 secs (3.0 ft) with local windswell intermixed. Swell Direction: 285 degrees

Tropical Update
No tropical systems of interest are being monitored at this time.

Fri AM (1/27) north winds forecast at 20 kts early for Cape Mendocino and northeast 5-10 kts for the remainder of North and Central CA. In the afternoon northwest winds are forecast at 20 kts for North Ca and 10-15 kts for Central CA. No precip forecast.
Sat AM (1/28) northwest winds are forecast at 20-25 kts early for all of North and Central CA mostly holding through the day through lighter near Pt Conception.
Sun AM (1/29) northwest winds are forecast at 20+ kts for North CA early and 15 kts for Central CA. In the afternoon north winds are forecast at 25-30 kts for Cape Mendocino and 15-20 kts for the rest of North CA and 15 kts northwest for Central CA. A weak backdoor front is to be sweeping south producing a chance for light scattered rain for all of North, Central and Southern CA early becoming focused on Central and South CA in the afternoon with some semi-real rain for mainly Southern CA in the evening. Light snow for Tahoe mid-AM covering the Sierra later afternoon and fading in the evening.
Mon AM (1/30) north-northeast winds are forecast at 15-20 kts for North CA early and north-northeast at 5-10 kts for Central CA. In the afternoon a light northeasterly flow is forecast for all of North and Central CA. Rain for the Southern half of Central CA and all of Southern CA early lingering mainly over Southern CA through the day and evening.
Tues AM (1/31) winds die with light northwest winds 1-5 kts early for all of North and Central CA. More of the same in the afternoon. Lingering showers for Southern CA early.
Wed AM (2/1) A light winds flow is forecast early but with a front and south winds developing in the afternoon at 20 kts for most of North CA and south winds 1-5 kts for Central CA.
Thurs AM (2/2) south winds to be 25-30 kt for all of North and Central CA early. In the afternoon the front is to push onshore with southwest winds 10 kts for North and Central CA. Rain developing for all of North and Central CA mid-AM and holding through the day. Snow for Tahoe in the late afternoon.

Total snow accumulation for the next 10 days respectively for Squaw Valley, Sugar Bowl, Kirkwood and Mammoth are projected at 6, 6, 3, and 2 inches forecast with all on Jan 29.

Freezing level for Lake Tahoe is 10,000 ft on Thurs (1/26) then falling to 3,000 ft or less by 1/29 only to rebuild to 8,500 ft on 1/31 and holding through 2/2, then falling to 5,500 ft beyond.

Tioga Pass/Pacific Crest Trail intersection forecast: Temps - Freeze Level
More locations here (scroll down to 'Resort Snow Forecasts>Central CA or North CA Caltrans & Backcountry')

Overview
Surface Analysis
No swell producing fetch has occurred with no swell in the water or radiating towards the coast.

LONG-TERM FORECAST
Marine weather and forecast conditions 3-10 days into the future

Beyond 72 hours a tiny gale is forecast developing off Kamchatka on Sat PM (1/28) producing 55 kt west winds aimed east and seas building from 39 ft over a small area at 47.75N 169E aimed east. 50 kt west winds to be lifting north pushing over the Aleutians on Sun AM (1/29) with seas 44 ft before sunrise at 50.25N 171.25E aimed east and becoming shadowed by the Aleutians soon after. Limited small swell radiating east with luck.

After that a weak and fragmented storm track is forecast offering nothing of real interest for a little bit.

Kelvin Wave Crosses Pacific - Cool Pool Collapsing
West Wind Anomaly Pattern Stabilizing over West KWGA
Cool subsurface water volume peaked under the equatorial Pacific on 10/15/21, faded in May and June 2022, but rebuilt in late July and held till mid-Nov, then started to retreat east. La Nina conditions are in control at the oceans surface but appear to be weakening while the foundations of it subsurface collapse. And atmospherically anomalous Westerly Winds are getting steadily more established over the KWGA while building in coverage and forecast to continue that trend for the foreseeable future. The last link in the chain is to see SSTs actually rising and the SOI falling (but that has not happened yet). The outlook is cautiously optimistic.

MJO/ENSO Discussion
The Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) is a periodic weather cycle that tracks east along the equator circumnavigating the globe. It is characterized in it's Inactive Phase by enhanced trade winds and dry weather over the part of the equator it is in control of, and in it's Active Phase by slackening if not an outright reversing trade winds while enhancing precipitation. The oscillation occurs in roughly 20-30 day cycles (Inactive for 20-30 days, then Active for 20-30 days) over any single location on the planet, though most noticeable in the Pacific. During the Active Phase in the Pacific the MJO tends to support the formation of stronger and longer lasting gales resulting in enhanced potential for the formation of swell producing storms. Prolonged and consecutive Active MJO Phases in the Pacific help support the formation of El Nino. During the Inactive Phase the jet stream tends to split resulting in high pressure and less potential for swell producing storm development. Wind anomalies in the Kelvin Wave Generation Area (KWGA) are key for understanding what Phase the MJO is in over the Pacific. The KWGA is located on the equator from 135E-170W and 5 degs north and south (or on the equator from New Guinea east to the dateline). West wind anomalies in the KWGA suggest the Active Phase of the MJO in the Pacific, and east anomalies suggests the Inactive Phase. In turn the Active Phase strengthens and the Inactive Phase weakens the jetstream, which in turn enhances or dampens storm production respectively in the Pacific.And the El Nino/La Nino cycle (collectively know as ENSO - El Nino Southern Oscillation) is a less frequent (about once every 7 years) but more impactful cycle that affects world wide weather. Specifically, strong El Nino events promote storm production in the Pacific while La Nina events suppress storm production. These therefore have a significant impact on the production of swell and surf. The paragraphs below analyze the state of the MJO and ENSO in the Pacific and provide forecasts for upcoming activity (or inactivity depending on the state and interaction of these two oscillations).

Overview: In 2019 warm equatorial waters were fading, and by August a tongue of cool water was tracking west on the equator from Ecuador over the Galapagos reaching to a point nearly south of Hawaii. A bit of a recovery tried to occur during Fall of 2019, with weak warm water building in the Nino 1.2 region, but cool water held in a pool off Peru. By April 2020 a cool pool was starting to build, forming a well defined cool tongue that evolved into La Nina, with it fully developing through July 2020. A slow dissolving of La Nina started in March 2021 with 2 Kelvin Waves sweeping east and arriving over the Galapagos in June. Weak warming set up over the equator with no cool waters present. NOAA declared La Nina dead. But cold water returned in July 2021 and a second pulse of La Nina developed through the Winter of 2022 and is continuing today, though possibly weaker with its foundation appearing to be in decline.

Rationale: It was assumed that the moderate La Nina from the Winter of 2020/2021 was on the wane and that a return to neutral ENSO state would set up over the Pacific Basin through the summer of 2021. But La Nina made a strong return by the end of Sept much like what the CFS model suggested would happen and a full double dip pattern took hold through the Winter of 21/22. But a quick fade is forecast as we move into late December 2022 with the CFS predicting a return to a neutral wind anomaly pattern and the low pressure bias making headway in to the KWGA in early Jan. Still it will take some time for the atmosphere to fully respond, resulting in a less than normal swell production forecast especially for Fall into early Winter 2022. But by later in Jan or early Feb 2023 a return to a more normal pattern might take hold. As a result a significantly reduced number of storm days and storm intensity is expected Oct 22-Jan 23, resulting in a below normal level of swells, with swell being below normal duration and period. But by Feb 2023, the number of storm days, intensity and duration of those storms should start improving as La Nina fades out. The net result is we're currently thinking a near normal number of swells with normal size and duration is to result, but all focused sometime after Jan 2023. The swell pattern will be below normal before Jan and above normal after Jan 23 with the average of the two being 'normal'. Of course this is all highly speculative at this early date.

KWGA/Equatorial Surface Wind Analysis (KWGA - Kelvin Wave Generation Area - The area 5 degrees north and south of the equator from 170W to 135E)
Analysis (TAO Buoys): As of (1/25) 5 day average winds were strong from the east over the Eastern equatorial Pacific and strong east over the Central Pacific and moderate to strong east over the KWGA. Anomalies were neutral over the East equatorial Pacific and modest east over the Central Pacific and moderate east over the KWGA. (Note: These are 5 day average winds, versus realtime, so they lag what is happening today (by about 2.5 days).
1-2 Week Forecast (GFS Model): (1/26) East anomalies were strong over the east KWGA today with weak west anomalies retreating west over the far West KWGA. The 7 day forecast calls for east anomalies at strong status building over the KWGA by 1/30 and filling the KWGA through the end of the model run ending 2/2.

MJO/WWB/Wind Projections:
OLR Models: (1/25) A strong Inactive signal was indicated over the KWGA today. The statistical model indicates the Inactive MJO easing slowly east while weakening over the KWGA and nearly east of the KWGA on day 15 of the model run with a solid Active Phase moving into the far West KWGA. The dynamic model indicates the Inactive Phase making a slower progression east and still almost filling the KWGA at the end of the 15 day model run.
Phase Diagrams 2 week forecast (CA and GEFS): (1/26) The statistical model depicts the Active signal was moderate over the Central Indian Ocean and is to track east to the Maritime Continent and very weak 15 days out. The dynamic model indicates almost the same thing but with the Active Phase over the West Maritime Continent at modest status 15 days out.
40 day Upper Level Model (assumed to be a statistical mode and 1 week ahead of what is occurring at the surface): (1/26) A modest Active signal (wet air) was trying to develop over the far West KWGA today. The forecast has the Active signal (wet air) tracking steadily east over the Pacific pushing into Ecuador on 2/25. A strong Inactive signal (dry air) is forecast moving over the KWGA on 2/15 filling the equatorial Pacific by the end of the model run on 3/7. This model has a far quicker eastward progression compared to all other models.
4 Week CFS Model (850 mb wind): (1/25) The Inactive Phase of the MJO was pushing over the western half of KWGA today with east anomalies pretty much filling KWGA. West east anomalies are to hold over the West KWGA with moderate east anomalies from 150E and points east of there till 2/2. At that time the Inactive Phase is to be pushing to the dateline and holding till 2/10, then dissolving. Very strong east anomalies are to set up on the dateline 2/4-2/12, the peak of the Inactive Phase. West anomalies are to start building over far West KWGA to 150E on 2/7 through the end of the model run on 2/22 as the Active Phase of the MJO pushes to 150E and east anomalies start fading on the dateline.
3 Month CFS Model (850 mb wind): (1/26) - using the 5th ensemble member - the mean of the 4 individual members which are all from the 00Z run - 1 run per day):
Today the Inactive Phase of the MJO was pushing over the KWGA with east anomalies pretty much filling the KWGA. East anomalies are to build to strong status on the dateline 2/5-2/17 the peak of the Inactive Phase. Weak west anomalies are to start building over the West KWGA on 2/2 with the Active Phase of the KWGA developing 2/3 pushing through the KWGA through 3/20 with west anomalies reaching east to about 150E and weak east anomalies east of there and slowly fading, gone by 3/7. After that a weak Inactive Phase of the MJO is to move over the KWGA 3/15 holding through the end of the model run on 4/25 but with weak west anomalies in control of the entire Pacific. The low pass filter indicates a high pressure bias with 2 contour lines centered at 180W with its western perimeter at 150E today. The second contour is to collapse or push east of the KWGA on 3/16 with the primary contour moving east of the KWGA by 4/10. A broad double contour low pressure bias is established centered over the West Maritime Continent at 90E with it's leading edge at 130E today and is already slowly pushing east and that is to continue, with a hard push east starting 3/15 and on the dateline at the end of the model run on 4/25. This is all a big deal and is being repeated in some form consistently from one run of the model to the next for 2 months now. It appears that the high pressure lockdown of the KWGA is fading with no return in sight, indicating the demise of La Nina is underway.

Subsurface Waters Temps
TAO Array: (1/26) Today in the far West Pacific the 29 degree isotherm was gone. The 28 deg isotherm line was steady at 175E. The 26 degree isotherm had backtracked from 157W to 162W. The 24 deg isotherm was pushing east into Ecuador and reasonably thick. Anomaly wise, warm anomalies at +5 deg C were in a broad pocket with the leading edge at 148W, A pocket of -3 deg negative anomalies were at 125W 115m down. A small pocket of warm waters were off Ecuador. The hi-res GODAS animation posted 1/18 indicates a huge very warm ball of 5+ degs anomalies stretching from the far West Pacific downward to 140W. Remnants of a previous Kelvin Wave were lingering in a pocket lifting upwards towards the surface in the far East equatorial Pacific. A cool pocket was centered at 117W down 80m (the upwelling phase of the Kelvin Wave cycle). The cool upwelling event that has been in play since July has been undercut and is fading. The GODAS animation appears to be 1 week behind the TAO data but also is more detailed and accurately modeled.
Sea Level Anomalies: (1/18) Sea heights were neutral over the entire East Equatorial Pacific except for a cool pocket at -5 cms between 110-130W and shrinking. A broad pocket of positive anomalies were over the equator in the far West Pacific reaching east to 175W with pockets of positive anomalies at +5 cms strung east across the 5N latitude line to Ecuador. No real negative anomalies remain over the equatorial Pacific. Per the Upper Ocean Heat Anomaly Histogram cool anomalies have retreated to the East Equatorial Pacific between 90W to Ecuador. But a generic pool of weak cool waters has developed between 108W to 140W but is retreating east. Warm waters continue building in intensity and coverage in the West at the same time.

Surface Water Temps
The more warm water in the equatorial East Pacific means more storm production in the North Pacific during winter months (roughly speaking). Cold water in that area has a dampening effect. Regardless of what the atmospheric models and surface winds suggest, actual water temperatures are a ground-truth indicator of what is occurring in the ocean. All data is from blended infrared and microwave sensors.
Satellite Imagery
Hi-res Nino1.2 & 3.4 Qualitative Analysis: (1/25) The latest images depict a broad generic pool of weakly cool water extending west from well off Peru to the dateline mainly south of the equator in the East but fully on the equator in the west and extending south down to about 20S near 125W. Pockets of warming are present along the equator from Ecuador west to 140W (likely results of the recent Kelvin Wave). And warmer than normal temps were present along the coasts of Chile and Peru. A thin cool stream was along the immediate coast of Peru but going nowhere. Overall this indicates the collapse of La Nina was underway.
Hi-res 7 day Trend (1/25): Moderate warming was occurring along the equator from the Galapagos to 160W in pockets. A broad pool of generic warming water was locked well off the coasts of Peru, Chile and Ecuador and west to 110W. No cooling temps were indicated. A warming trend is well entrenched and building.
Hi-res Overview: (1/21) Weakly cool waters cover a large area from well west of Ecuador to 160E on and south of the equator from off South America down to 20S with the coolest waters between mainly from 150W to 160E over the equator and even those were losing intensity. The east equatorial Pacific is finally and steadily warming. Warmer than normal waters were along the coasts of Chile, Peru and Ecuador. La Nina remains in control over the West Equatorial Pacific for the moment but the density and intensity of the cooling os steadily fading while warming water is building around it's edges.
Nino1.2 Daily CDAS Index Temps: (1/26) (These temps are biased high by about 0.2 degs compared to official sources). Today's temps were rising at -0.091. Temps previously were up to -0.695 on 12/22 after rising to -0.750 on 12/18, and that after rising from -1.267 in early Dec and then modestly in the -1.5 degs range late Oct and all Nov. Previously temps were in the -1.0 range since 7/29. Temps were down on 7/20 to -1.6 degs. Previously temps were stable near -1.4 degrees 6/12 through 7/27. Peaks in that time frame were -1.189 (7/7), -1.534 (7/5). Previously temps were at -1.822 on 6/9 after being up to -1.506 (5/21) and that after hovering around -2.0 degs since 4/21/22. Prior to that temps were fading after peaking at +0.760 on 3/18. Temps had been moving upwards since 2/20, and beat a previous high of -0.650 degs on 1/9 and that after being down at -1.871 on 1/3/22 and -1.954 on 12/18/21, the lowest this year so far. Previously temps dropped on 11/24/21 at -1.700, the lowest in months after previously toggling steady at about -0.6 degs from mid Aug to Oct 6, then falling from there. That year temps bottomed out at -2.138 on 8/13/20. The longterm trend has been steadily downward.
Nino 3.4 Daily CDAS Index Temps: (1/26) (These temps are biased high by about 0.2 degs). Today's temps were steady at -1.019 after falling hard to -1.187 on 1/7 but otherwise have been holding around -1.0 degree since 11/3 and up to -0.900 on 10/18 beating a previous peak of -0.819 on 9/22. In general temps have been in the -1.0 range since 8/16. Temps had fallen since 7/15 reaching La Nina threshold on 7/27 after being more or less steady the previous 3 weeks peaking at -0.25 on 7/14 and -0.275 on 7/5. Previously temps had been on an upward trend since 5/15/22 rising to -0.414 degs (6/19) and -0.493 on 6/9, the first reading above La Nina threshold values since Sept 2021. Temps were down to -0.929 (5/2/22) and that after rising to a peak at -0.704 on 3/27 and had been on a gentle rising trend since falling to -1.012 on 3/8. Previously temps were rising slightly to -0.505 on 2/2 and that after reaching a peak low of -1.096 on 1/3/22 beating the previous low of -1.080 on 11/2/21, the lowest in a year. Prior to that temps had been in a freefall starting from the -0.175 range in early Sept/21. Before that temps peaked up at 7/1/21 +0.332, the highest in a year. Temps previously had been steady near -0.222 since early March 2021. Temps bottomed out at -1.654 on 11/3/2020.

CFSV2 Forecast for Nino3.4 Sea Surface Temp (SST) Anomalies & Current SST Anomalies

SST Anomaly Projections
CFSv2 Data
Previous - Temps rose in early Nov 2020 after bottoming out at -1.25 degs, up to -0.01 degs in mid-June 2021 then fading to -1.05 degs in mid-Nov then rebuilding to -0.7 in mid Feb 2022 then fading to -1.1 degs in May before starting an upward climb peaking in mid-June at -0.65 degs and mid July at -0.55 degs. A steady decline set in after that falling to -1.00 degs in Aug and Sept rising to -0.8 degs mid Oct then falling to -1.0 in Nov but slowly rising to -0.75 degs in Jan 2023.
Forecast (1/26) - Temps are starting to rise dramatically and are forecast continuing to rise reaching above the La Nina threshold (-0.5 degs) in late-Jan and neutral (0.0 degs) mid-April and up to +0.55 degs in Oct and into El Nino territory. This model suggests we are going to steadily transition towards ENSO neutral in Jan. The PDF Corrected forecast suggests temps rising quickly and above La Nina threshold the last week of Jan and neutral (0.0 degs) mid-April and rising from there forward to +0.40 degs in Oct. According to this version of the model we are starting a trend towards neutrality in Feb with momentum towards El Nino in Spring. The surface temp coverage model suggests a steady erosion of the coldest waters south of Nino3.4 (down at 20S) has begun. Near neutral temps are expected over the entire equatorial Pacific in March with a warming trend starting in May and building beyond.
IRI Consensus Plume: The January 19, 2023 Plume depicts temps are -0.492 degs today. Temps to rise steadily from here forward to -0.229 degs in Feb and above the La Nina Threshold and -0.031 in March rising to +0.736 in July and +0.753 in Sept. This is consistent with the previous run. This model suggests a transition to ENSO neutral. This model is in line with the CFS model.
See chart here - link.

Atmospheric Coupling (Indicating the presence of El Nino in the atmosphere driven by the ocean):
Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) (negative is good, positive bad - all but the Daily Index was a lagging indicator):
Today (1/22) the Daily Index was rising at 4.01 after reaching +55.74 on 12/22 and were in the +20 range the last 22 days, neutral 5 days before that, but above +10 the previous 13 days and then generally below +10.0 before that (from 11/5-11/27). It was negative for 5 days dropping to -31.05 on 11/7. This was the first negative run in months and suggests that the westerly anomaly wind activity in the West Pacific might be having an impact on the SOI. Previous peaks were +37.19 (10/5), +33.57 (5/24), +40.77 (5/10), +31.44 (4/27), +31.80 (4/6), +27.33 (1/31) and +46.71 (12/26). The trend has been solidly positive. Previous other notable peaks were +30.98 (11/26/21), +36.90 (9/28), +27.75 ( 9/13) and +37.86 (7/15).
The 30 day average was falling at +14.29 after falling to +4.18 on 11/27 and peaking at +21.57 (10/16) after supposedly peaking at +19.66 on 9/28. It was down to +6.89 on 7/29. It peaked at +20.34 (5/12) the highest in a year and beating last years high of +19.51 (1/14).
The 90 day average was falling at +12.16 previously peaking at +15.61 on 10/25 and previously peaking at +12.92 on 8/11 and that after peaking at +18.40 (7/2) beating it's previous peak of +16.86 (5/31), the highest in a year. It previously peaked at +9.80 (9/21) after falling to it's lowest point in a year at +1.06 (6/9). The 90 day average peaked at +15.75 (2/23/21 - clearly indicative of La Nina then). This index is a lagging indicator but suggest La Nina is returning.

Pacific Decadal Oscillation
The PDO theoretically turned from a 16 year negative run (Jan 98-Feb 2014) in early 2014 and was positive till Dec 2019, but has been negative ever since, driven by recent La Nina conditions. In May-July 2021 it was the most negative its been in the -1.80 to -2.04 range since Sept 2012 (-2.99) and then fell to -3.16 in Oct 2021 (the lowest since July 1933) then settled at -2.72 in Nov and Dec 2021. Looking at the long term record, it seems likely we are still in the Cool Phase of the PDO (La Nina 'like') with no signs of moving to the positive/warm phase (El Nino 'like').

Local Interest
Stormsurf Video Surf Forecast for this week. See it Here
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