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Pacific Storm and Surf Forecast
Updated: June 8, 2010 8:27 PM
Buoys: Northern CA - Southern CA - Hawaii - Gulf of Alaska - Pacific Northwest
Buoy Forecast:
Northern CA - Southern CA - Hawaii - Gulf of Alaska - Pacific Northwest
Pacific Links:  Atmospheric Models - Buoy Data - Current Weather - Wave Models
Forecast Archives: Enter Here
A chronology of recent Mavericks Underground forecasts. Once you enter, just click on the HTML file forecast you want to review (e.g. 073199.html equals July 31, 1999). To view the maps that correspond to that forecast date, select the html file labeled 073199 maps.html
Swell Potential Rating = 2.0 - California & 2.0 - Hawaii
Using the 'Summer' Scale
(See Swell Category Table link at bottom of page)
Probability for presence of largest swells in near-shore waters of NCal, SCal or Hawaii.    
Issued for Week of Monday 6/7 thru Sun 6/13
Swell Potential Rating Categories
5 = Good probability for 3 or more days of Significant swell
4 = Good probability for 1-2 days of Significant swell
3 = Good probability for 3 or more days of Intermediate/Advanced swell
2 = Good probability for  1-2 days of
Intermediate/Advanced swell
1 = Good probability for 3 or more days of Impulse or Windswell
0 = Low probability for 1-2 days of Impulse or Windswell   

Continuous Windswell for California
Small Southern Hemi Swell Mixed in for Hawaii and CA Too

 

New Swell Classification Guidelines (Winter)

Significant: Winter - Swell 8 ft @ 14 secs or greater (11+ ft faces) for 8+ hours (greater than double overhead). Summer - Head high or better.
Advanced: Winter - Swell and period combination capable of generating faces 1.5 times overhead to double overhead (7-10 ft) Summer - Chest to head high.
Intermediate: Winter - Swell and period combination generating faces at head high to 1.5 times overhead (4-7 ft). Summer - Waist to chest high.
Impulse/Windswell: Winter - Swell and period combination generating faces up to head high (1-4 ft) or anything with a period less than 11 secs. Summer - up to waist high swell. Also called 'Background' swell.

PACIFIC OVERVIEW
On Tuesday (6/8) North and Central California had chest high raw local windswell with northwest winds, warble and fog early. Southern California was getting waist high wrap around northwest windswell and clean though a little lumpy early. Small southern hemi swell was also in the mix down south generating sets in the waist to chest high range with clean conditions. Hawaii's North Shore was flat and clean. The East Shore was getting knee high tradewind generated east windswell and lightly chopped. The South Shore had minimal thigh high wrap-around east windswell pushing in with clean conditions.

The forecast for North and Central CA is for leftover southern hemi swell at waist high Wednesday with windswell all but gone, then returning on Thursday and holding Friday at 1 ft overhead, then fading from chest to head high early Saturday and waist high Sunday. Southern California is to see southern hemi swell at maybe waist high Wednesday before dissipating. Northwest windswell moves in for late Thursday up north and then all exposed breaks Friday at waist high or so, holding Saturday then dropping from thigh high Sunday. The North Shore of Oahu is to see nothing of interest for the next week.  The East Shore to start seeing east tradewind generated windswell by Wednesday at waist to chest high pushing head high on Thursday holding early Friday then starting to fade a little to shoulder high Saturday and slowly drifting down from there. The South Shore to see no southern hemi until late Thursday when new waist high swell arrives peaking at waist to chest high on Friday, down to waist high Saturday and fading to thigh high or so Sunday and holding there.   

A decent gale tracked under New Zealand and pushed east Thurs-Sat (6/5) with 36-38 ft seas, all aligned very much to the east limiting energy pushing north. Still some energy is forecast into Hawaii by Friday (6/11) and the US West Coast by late Sat/early Sunday (6/13). Otherwise nothing is on the charts down south. Up north and weak gale is forecast tracking from a point 1200 nmiles north of Hawaii on Thurs (6/10) with 16 ft seas pushing fast up into the northern Gulf of Alaska with up to 26 ft seas, but most of that later energy is to be aimed at the Pacific Northwest and points north of there. Possible tiny swell for Central CA  with alot of luck.

 

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

North Pacific

Overview
On Tuesday (6/8) the North Pacific jetstream continued flowing flat over the 40N latitude as it has for a while now with two small pockets of 130-140 kt winds embedded in a larger less energetic flow extending from the dateline east pushing into North California and into the interior US mainland. The two pockets of stronger wind energy were positioned on the dateline and another about 1000 nmiles west of Pt Arena CA. Limited support for weak gale development in these areas. Over the next 72 hours the pocket closest to the mainland is to track east and into extreme North CA on Wednesday (6/9) with the associated trough pushing into the coast later that evening. The dateline trough is to track east some and start pinching off with winds ramping up to 140 kts over a broader area, but all positioned on the east side of the trough aimed towards Alaska, moving into the Central Gulf on Friday (6/11). Limited support for gale development in this trough, again all focused on Alaska. Beyond 72 hours this trough to lift up into the far Northeastern Gulf by Sun (6/13) and dissipating there. Beyond the jet is to all shift hard north up around 49N with all energy less than 100 kts offering no support for swell producing gale development. any trough activity is to move into the Bering Sea, north of the Aleutians, and landlocked 

At the surface on Tuesday (6/8) a rather weak weather pattern was in.cgiay. Weak low pressure at 1008 mbs was 700 nmiles west of the OR/CA boarder producing 25 kt northwest winds aimed at Central and North CA. Seas were 10 ft there and of no interest. A second broader gale was over the dateline, but with no fetch aimed at our forecast area.  Over the next 72 hours the gale off the CA coast is to push northeast and develop some with winds at 35 kts late Tuesday evening at 42N 135W 600 nmiles off San Francisco, then lifting northeast right before hitting the coast of Oregon Wednesday AM (6/9) and disintegrating as high pressure builds fast over the same area producing more 25-30 kt pure northwest fetch there and holding into early Saturday (6/12). Theoretically 16 ft seas from the gale are forecast at 5 AM on Wednesday at 40N 130W resulting in some degree of windswell at 6+ ft @ 10 secs hitting Central CA from 285 degrees on Thurs AM (6/10) but buried in locally generated north short period windswell hitting at the same time. Should be a real mess. And the windswell is to continue into Saturday (6/12) for Central CA.

Another broader low pressure system is to be tracking off Japan over the dateline at the same time with near 30 kt westerly fetch starting to take root at 40N 160W producing seas of 16 ft at the same area on Thursday AM (6/10).  No real swell to result though since the fetch is to be moving so fast off to the northeast, getting little traction on the oceans surface. The gale is to finally coalesce in the Gulf of Alaska Friday AM (6/11) with 45 kt west-southwest winds at 50N 152W all pushing towards northern Canada, moving inland 24 hours later. Sea are modeled to 26 ft at 52N 147W on the 315 degree great circle path to NCal, but the fetch is to be pushing almost 60 degrees northeast of that path. Low odds of swell pushing down towards the US mainland.  Will monitor just the same.

Otherwise trades are to start building over Hawaii on Wednesday (6/9) as high pressure takes root peaking on Thursday, then settling down but not out. East tradewind short period windswell to be the result. 

 

North Pacific Animations: Jetstream - Surface Pressure/Wind - Sea Height - Surf Height

 

California Nearshore Forecast
On Tuesday (6/8) weak high pressure was nosing into into the coast, producing a steady northwest flow at 15 kts over Central CA and up to 20 kts over Pt Conception.  But that is to be disintegrating Wednesday AM as a new low pressure cell pushes into Oregon on Wednesday. Light winds forecast till about 3 PM as the low evaporates and stronger high pressure at 1032 mbs springs to life just northeast of Hawaii generating a pressure gradient with northwest winds 20 kts building to 30-35 kts later Thursday. The gradient to shift north on Friday focused on Cape Mendocino with 35 kt northwest winds there reaching to Pt Conception at 20 kts and over the Channel Islands, but likely sparing Southern CA. By later Saturday (6/12) the gradient is to be fading and lifting more to the north, with local winds improving in Central CA late and a calm pattern expected by Sunday (6/13). Some degree of northerly fetch to continue over outer northern waters Monday and Tuesday but light winds nearshore.   

 

South Pacific

Overview
On Tuesday (6/8) no fetch of interest was occurring the the Hawaiian or Californian swell window aimed north enough to produce swell. There was a gale with 40-45 kt pure west winds in the deep Southeast Pacific, but aimed only at South America.  Over the next 72 hours that gale is to rapidly track east and out of the US swell window, leaving a calm pattern in it's wake. Upper level high pressure is to be in control of the South Central Pacific driving the jetstream almost to the southeast and suppressing gale development.  

 

Southwest Pacific Gale
On Thursday AM (6/3) a gale was tracking under Australia pushing into the extreme Southwest Pacific and starting to develop, carrying seas previously generated with it. 45 kt west winds were modeled at 56S 180W with seas of 32 ft at 58S 170E, but with limited if any energy radiating north. Thursday evening (6/3) more 45 kt west winds were modeled at 61S 175W aimed 40 degrees east of the 208 degree path to NCal and totally shadowed by Tahiti and 70 degrees east of the 193 degree path to Hawaii generating seas of 36 ft at 59S 180W.  On Friday AM 45 kt west winds were modeled at 60S 160W aimed 40 degrees east of the 200 degree path to California (totally shadowed) and 80 degrees east of the 184 degree path to Hawaii generating seas of 35 ft at 57S 170W. 45 kt west winds lifted a little northeast in the evening at 55S 158W producing seas of 38 ft at 56S 167W pushing 40 degree east of the 203 degree path to California and almost east of the Tahitian swell shadow and pushing completely east of any route to Hawaii.  On Saturday AM (6/5) this system raced east with the core becoming fragmented and none of the original fetch remaining. 36 ft seas from previous fetch were fading at 57S 152W all pushing pretty well due east with minimal energy tracking up the 196 degree path to California and effectively unshadowed by Tahiti. Some degree of limited mostly shadowed sideband swell is expected to radiate into California with background swell for Hawaii.

Hawaii: Expect swell arrival on late on Thurs (6/10) with pure swell 1.6 ft @ 19 secs (3 ft faces). Swell to peak on Friday (6/11) at 2 ft @ 18 secs (3.5 ft faces - top spots to 4 ft) then settling down on Saturday with swell 1.6 ft @ 16 secs (2.6-3.0 ft faces). Residuals of 1.6 ft @ 15 secs (2.5 ft faces) expected on Sunday (6/13). Swell Direction:192 degrees    

Southern CA: Expect swell arriving late on Saturday (6/12) at 1.6 ft @ 20 secs (3 ft faces). Swell building to 2.6 ft @ 18 secs (4.5 ft faces) on Sunday (6/13) and possibly 3 ft @ 17 secs on Monday (4.5-5.0 ft faces), fading to 3 ft @ 16 secs (4.5 ft faces) on Tuesday (6/15). Swell down to 3 ft @ 15 secs on Wednesday (chest high faces). Swell Direction: 195-200 degrees 

Northern CA: Expect swell arriving on Sunday (6/13) at 2.0 ft @ 18-19 secs (3 ft faces) building to 2.6 ft @ 17 secs (4.5 ft faces) on Monday (6/14) and possibly 3 ft @ 16 secs (4.5 ft faces) on Tuesday (6/15). Swell down to 3 ft @ 15 secs on Wednesday (chest high faces). Swell Direction: 195 degrees           

 

South Pacific Animations: Jetstream - Surface Pressure/Wind - Sea Height - Surf Height

 

QuikCAST's

 

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

North Pacific

Beyond 72 hrs high pressure at 1036 mbs is to be in control of the West and central Gulf of Alaska through the weekend, then starting to moderate off the US West coast early next week. Modest trades to continue over Hawaii resulting in small east short period windswell while a pressure gradient reforms over Cape Mendocino CA late Monday (6/14) reaching 30 kts on Tuesday producing more north windswell and chop primarily for Central CA.
 

MJO/ENSO Update (reference): As of Tuesday (6/8) the Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) continued backing off from positive territory. The daily SOI was down to -16.10.  The 30 day average was down to 7.57 with the 90 day up to 6.10.  This was looking like a weak Active Phase dip embedded in a broader La Nina pattern.

Wind anomalies as of Tuesday (6/8) at the 850 mb level (approx 5000 ft up) as defined by models suggested light east anomalies over the West Pacific to the dateline indicative of the building Inactive Phase of the MJO and neutral/normal winds over the rest of the Pacific. By 6/12 those light east anomalies are to continue pushing east into Central America on into 6/17, then a neutral pattern is to be taking hold of the entire Pacific through the end of the month.

We believe that El Nino will not hang on for another year, and that rather we'll fall back into some form of a light La Nina Pattern (where the Inactive Phase takes control). Of other interest will be whether the Iceland Volcano will spew enough high level fine particle dust and aerosols into the atmosphere to produce a reflective effect, dropping surface temperature and pushing us into a multi-year La Nina.  This is a very real concern.  

Sea Surface Temp anomaly data (6/3) indicates that cooler than normal waters have now developed over a thin strip on the equator from South America drifting west and covering the important equatorial area of almost half the Pacific Ocean.  This is a dramatic turn for the worse and only seems to have gotten stronger over the past week. A massive buildup of warmer than normal waters continues in the Atlantic, of concern to hurricane forecasters there. We'll see if upper level winds support development of hurricane activity or whether residual upper level shear from El Nino will chop the tops of developing systems. Suspect shear will be gone by the heart of hurricane season in the Atlantic.

Below the surface on the equator no Kevin Wave activity was present and if anything colder than normal water was building strong over the dateline and pushing east (sort of like a cold Kelvin Wave). Not good. 

Over the entire Equatorial Pacific trades were blowing all the way to almost the Philippines, but only in the normal range. Perhaps a slight push to the west was occurring, but nothing extraordinary. This looks like the normal Springtime transition typical for this time of the year but is likely to change towards an increased easterly flow as Fall approaches symptomatic of La Nina.  

El Nino is effectively gone and slowly losing it's grip on the global atmospheric weather pattern. Still some lingering impact is to continue into the Summer of 2010 enhancing the storm track in the South Pacific some. A slow transition to a normal if not slight cooler than normal state (La Nina) is expected through Nov 2010, and the signs continue to point to a La Nina pattern for the long term future. 

See more details in the new  El Nino update.

 

South Pacific

Beyond 72 hours the models indicate no swell producing fetch is forecast.

Details to follow...

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External Reference Material: El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), Southern Oscillation Index (SOI), Kelvin Wave

Add a STORMSURF Buoy Forecast to your Google Homepage. Click Here: Add to Google
Then open your Google homepage, hit 'edit' button (top right near graph), and select your location


MAVERICKSSURF MAVFILM MAVSURFER SURFPULSE Inside Mavericks Randy Cone Surfboards

Local Interest

The Mavericks: Everest of the Seas Exhibition has unveiled its latest gallery featuring some of the most heart-stopping images from the epic El Niño-fueled Big Wave Season. This year's lineup includes not only a culmination of images from Award-winning photographers Doug Acton, Frank Quirarte, Seth Migdail, Ed Grant and Art Gimbel but a multimedia slide show and a video recap of the 2010 Mavericks Surf Contest, one of the greatest days in surfing history.

Thanks to an El Nino weather pattern, this has been one of the most dramatic big-wave surf seasons on record, said Doug Acton, Mavericks Veteran Lensmen.

Now Eric Nelson and Curt Myers of Powerlines Productions have come on board to bring the gallery images to life by presenting both water and cliff-angle video of the Mavericks contest, won by South Africa's Chris Bertish in the biggest waves ever ridden in a paddle-surf contest.

The Mavericks crew will transform the Longboard Vineyards tasting room into a virtual caldron of 50-foot drops, glory rides and heinous wipeouts. As you stand under the colorful Tibetan Prayer flags, tasting some of Longboard Vineyards' libations, you'll be hard-pressed not to become immersed in the real-life drama, energy and stoke that surrounds the surfers and photographers every time they head out to the lineup.

Longtime big-wave surfer Mark (Doc) Renneker put it best when he said, “Every time you leave the shore, you head out into the wildnerness.”

“We're coming off one of the most phenomenal big-wave seasons to date," said Quirarte, the longtime Mavericks lifeguard and master lensman. “This season we witnessed so many great rides by so many different surfers from so many different countries. Mavericks is still the No. 1 all-around spot in the world for big-wave surfing.”

Oded Shakked, a longtime surfer who founded Longboard Vineyards, will be on hand at the reception to unveil the latest release in his Mavericks Signature Series, the Ken “Skindog” Collins Syrah.

Veteran waterman Ken “Skindog” Collins (Santa Cruz, CA) is hands down one of the most recognized and respected big wave surfers today. With his recent trip to the podium at the 2010 Mavericks Surf Contest or his epic twenty-foot Puerto Escondido barrel that earned him top honors at the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards. Collins has traveled the world mentoring up and coming crop of big wave chargers -- and has himself pioneered and ridden the biggest waves on the.cgianet.

“I can't think of a better person to honor with our next Mavericks label than Kenny Collins,” said Shakked. “A true icon of the sport.”__

Oded Shakked, along with the featured photographers, videographers, surfboard shapers and wine makers will be on hand at the Longboard Vineyards Tasting room in beautiful Healdsburg California for the Saturday night reception on May 22nd The reception will begin at 5pm and run until roughly 9pm.

“Everest of the Seas” was launched in the summer of 2009, with the idea of bringing together the most memorable photos from Mavericks' best sessions. It drew large crowds and an enthusiastic response in its debut at the Coastal Arts League Gallery in Half Moon Bay, then moved on to successful runs at San Francisco's world-class SFMOMA Museum and Gallery, The Fillmore, The Half Moon Bay Big Wave Surfing Festival and Longboard Vineyards.

Stormsurf Hi-Res Coastal Precipitation Models Upgraded Though a bit late in the season, on 3/20 we i.cgiemented the same basic technology used in our new snow/ski models into the coastal hi-res precipitation models. So now you can not only determined whether rain is forecast for your area, but also snow. And not just light, medium or heavy snow like most sites, but the exact snowfall amount (in inches) for each 3 hr frame of the animation. Here's a sa.cgie, but now this approach is used in all our precipitation models. http://www.stormsurfing.com/cgi/display_alt.cgi?a=nwcoast_precip

Stormsurf Precip Models Upgraded! On 2/20 we upgraded some of the broader precipitation models driven by the hi-def GFS model to include snow fall. The algorithm used is similar to the recently released snow models for the Southwest US in that the areas where snow is expected are identified and the exact amount of snow forecast over a 3 hr window is e.cgiicitly color coded. For East and West Coast US interests the following links provide good exa.cgies:
West Coast: http://www.stormsurfing.com/cgi/display_alt.cgi?a=nepac_precip
East Coast: http://www.stormsurfing.com/cgi/display_alt.cgi?a=watla_precip

Stormsurf Weather Models have all been upgraded! Over the New Years break we installed all new and upgraded weather models. Also new are experimental snow models for the Southwest US. Take a look here: http://www.stormsurf.com/mdls/menu_wx.html

Read about Eric Nelson and Curt Myers, the makers of Ride-On and other Big Wave Surf Movies here: http://coastviewsmag.com/powerlines-productions-filming-the-art-of-big-wave-surfing

Ride On! Powerlines new big wave epic is now available on DVD. Get the entire big wave story of the 2008-2009 season here: http://www.mavz.com/

Click here to learn more about Casa Noble Tequila! Casa Noble Tequila If you are looking for an exquisite experience in fine tequila tasting, one we highly recommend, try Case Noble. Consistently rated the best tequila when compared to any other. Available at BevMo (in California). Read more here: http://www.casanoble.com/

Interview With Stormsurf:  The crew at SurfScience.com worked with Stormsurf on a feature about why surfers should be able to read wave charts themselves. They are firm believers that a little learning can go a long way to help your surfing.  This is a great article to help convince your friends that they can benefit from being able to read the data themsleves rather than just relying on the forecasts of others.  See the full thing here:  Create Your Own Surf Forecast with Stormsurf

North California Surf Report Works Again: After an extended downtime we finally got the North California Surf Report working again. Thanks for your patience. See it here: http://www.stormsurf.com/page2/report/ncal.html

Shark Video: Our friend Curt Myers of Powerlines productions shot this footage of 2 great whites munching on a whale carcass off Devils Slide (south of San Francisco) on Thursday. Kind of interesting to watch. Check it here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8I4rZYEZMWQ (Fixed link)

Wave Model Upgrade Status Report: At this point we believe the installation of the new wave models is complete, with no problems being reported, the server stabilizing and the much requested return of the old style hemispheric Surf Height models now operational (again) and running side-by-side along the new ones. We thank you for your patience and input as we went though this process.  Your feedback helps guide our efforts and ultimately results in a better product for everyone.  Now we're off to start providing better menus to some wave model products most of you probably haven't uncovered yet (site specific graph and text forecasts), updateing the wave model FAQs and then upgrading the Weather Models.  

New Wave Model Facts: Click HERE to read more about the new wave models. Important info.

Stormsurf Wave Models Updated: On Friday (2/6) we installed the latest upgrade to our wavemodels. A year in the works, this upgrade essentially is a total re-write of every wave model product we produce. They now take advantage of the new Version 3 of the Wavewatch wavemodel. This version runs at a much higher resolution, specifically 0.0 X 0.5 degrees for the global grib with local products at 0.1667 X 0.1667 degrees, and it uses the hi-res GFS model for wind speeds. And of even more interest, the model now identifies primary swell and windwave variables. As such we now have new model images which displays this data. Also we've included out special 3D topographic land masks into all models. In all it makes for a radical step forward in wave model technology. We'll be upgrading minor components (FAQ, new menu pages etc) for a few weeks to come, but all the basics are available for your use now. Check it out here: http://www.stormsurf.com/mdls/menu_wam.html

Story About Stormsurf: The folks at SurfPulse (and specifically author Mike Wallace) have written up a really nice article about Stormsurf, complete with some good pics. Learn about how we came to be and a little of where we are going. Check it out here: http://www.surfpulse.com/2009/01/visceral-surf-forecasting-with-mark-sponsler/

Stormsurf Video: Just for fun - here's a clip about Stormsurf that ran on Bay Area TV a while back. Thought you might enjoy it: http://vimeo.com/2319455

Time Zone Converter By popular demand we've built and easy to use time convert that transposes GMT time to whatever time zone you are located. It's ion left hand column on every page on the site near the link to the swell calculator.

Need Chiropractic Help? Visit our friends at Darrow Chiropractic. Not only will Dr. Darrow fix you up, he might give you some big wave surfing tips too! See more here: http://www.darrowchiropractic.com/

Stormsurf Google Gadget - Want Stormsurf content on your Google Homepage? It's si.cgie and free. If you have Google set as your default Internet E.cgiorer Homepage, just click the link below and a buoy forecast will be added to your Google homepage. Defaults to Half Moon Bay CA. If you want to select a different location, just click on the word 'edit', and a list of alternate available locations appears. Pick the one of your choice. Content updates 4 times daily. A great way to see what waves are coming your way!
http://www.google.com/ig/add?moduleurl=http://www.stormsurf.com/gadget/stormsurf .xml

Free Stormsurf Stickers - Get your free stickers! - More details Here

Read all the latest news and happenings on our News Page here

Surf Height-Swell Height Correlation Table

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