Swell Classification Guidelines
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/Utility Class: 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
Current Conditions
On Thursday (8/30) North and Central CA had local north windswell producing waves at waist high with top spots to chest high and a bit warbled with light northwest winds early. Fog is back too. Down south in Santa Cruz surf was effectively flat and clean (knee high or less). Southern California up north was waist high and trashed by northwest winds. Down south rare southern hemi lines were producing waist high walled up surf that was clean. Hawaii's North Shore was flat and clean with trades in effect. The South Shore was getting some rideable swell with waves up to chest high and clean with light trades in effect. The East Shore report was not available.
See QuikCASTs for the 5 day surf overview or read below for the detailed view
Meteorological Overview
Up north high pressure was barely ridging into the US West Coast forming a weak pressure gradient centered over Cape Mendocino with winds 20-25 kts there making for small local north windswell pushing down the Central CA coast.Trades continued in the 15 kt range over Hawaii and not doing much in terms of windswell production. Beyond high pressure is to continue doing exactly as it is now, with only modest fluctuations in the speed of the wind in the gradient over Cape Mendocino for the next week. The result is to be more small local windswell. Trades to hold in the 15 kt range for Hawaii through Saturday (9/1) producing minimal east windswell with the fetch area growing a little by Sunday but still only 15 kts with windswell coming up just slightly and holding into Wed (9/5) before retreating again. There continues to be suggestions that the remnants of Typhoon Bolaven might regenerate over the Gulf of Alaska by Tues (9/4), but we're not holding our breath. Minimal hurricane IIeana was.cgiodding northwest off Southern Baja and expected to produce small swell, but masked by stronger southern hemi swell hitting at the same time.
Starting Thurs (8/23) Storm #2S tracked from the deep South-Central Pacific heading northeast with seas in the 35-38 ft range. Swell from it is in the water pushing northeast with early signs of it already present in Southern CA. But beyond no swell production is forecast.
SHORT- TERM FORECAST
Current marine weather and wave analysis.cgius forecast conditions for the next 72 hours
North Pacific
Overview
Surface - On Thursday (8/30) the Northeast Pacific high pressure system was at 1024 mbs and was lightly ridging into Northern CA generating the usual pressure gradient over Cape Mendocino CA producing north winds at 20-25 kts there. This was resulting in small north local short period windswell tracking down the Central CA coast. The southern quadrant of the high was also producing easterly trades over the Hawaiian Islands and open waters east of there at about 15 kts, just barely enough to produce minimal easterly windswell for exposed breaks in the Islands.
Over the next 72 hours the high is to continue easing east into North CA maintaining the pressure gradient along the North California coast with north winds holding in the 20 kts range producing more small sized local windswell pushing down the Central CA coast. Pressure to build to 1028 mbs on Sunday but no real change in wind speeds or windswell size expected. East trades to hold at 15 kts over the Hawaiian Islands with non-continuous fetch east of there through Saturday, then starting to build in coverage a bit more over Sunday into Wednesday with slightly improving odds for minimal windswell along east facing shores, but nothing more
North Pacific Animations: Jetstream - Surface Pressure/Wind - Sea Height - Surf Height
Tropics
As of Thursday AM (8/30):
Hurricane Ileana was 275 nmiles southwest of Cabo San Lucas traveling northwest with winds 65 kts and seas 24 ft. It was just in the Southern CA swell window at 162 degrees relative to Dana Point and 925 nmiles out. Swell from it should arrive in Southern CA starting 48 hrs out with period at 12 secs, or on 2 AM Saturday. Size to be masked by southern hemi swell arriving at the same time. Ileana had peaked out and is projected to begin a steady fade while traveling northwest with winds falling below 50 kts by late Friday as it moves over cooler waters. It is to then begin fading fast while accelerating to the west-northwest. Low odds for small background swell for Southern CA, and even that to be masked by southern hemi Swell #2S hitting at the same time.
California Nearshore Forecast
On Thursday (8/30) modest high pressure was ridging into the North CA coast producing north winds over North CA with a weak eddy flow building behind it over Central CA. Winds were light mid-day. Friday the gradient is to weaken some with barely 20 kt north winds hanging over Cape Mendocino with 15 kt winds sweeping south off the Central CA coast with light winds nearshore. More of the same is forecast through the weekend but with a better eddy flow forecast by Sunday and Monday for Central CA. Contrary to the official hurricane forecast, the GFS model has the remnants of Hurricane Ileana moving directly over Pt Conception on Tuesday (9/4). Far fetched. Regardless, a light winds flow to continue with the Northern CA gradient fading Wednesday. A weak eddy flow to continue for Southern CA but possibly building stronger Mon-Tues (9/4) depending on what Ileana does.
South Pacific
Overview
Jet stream - On Tuesday (8/28) a .cgiit jetstream pattern remained locked over much of the South Pacific with the southern branch again di.cgiaced well to the south (70S) under New Zealand then lifting north as it moved over the eastern half of the Pacific. That said, wind speeds were very weak (80 kts) and effectively non-existent. No support for gale development indicated. Over the next 72 hours more of the same is forecast with only pockets of 90 kt winds forecast and no major troughs of support for gale development forecast. Beyond 72 hours a large ridge is forecast pushing hard south by Monday (9/3) in the far Eastern Pacific east of even the eastern edge of the CA swell window and right through the middle of the South American swell window slamming into Antarctica. Another ridge is also forming in the Central Pacific Tuesday (9/4) pushing into Antarctica. No support for gale production indicated.
Surface - At the surface in the South Pacific no fetch of interest was occurring. Over the next 72 hours no fetch of interest is forecast.
Storm #2S - Southeast Pacific
On Thursday AM (8/23) a storm developed over Antarctic Ice with a moderate sized area of 45-50 kt southwest winds becoming exposed over ice free waters north of there with seas building to 34 ft over a modest area at 58S 160W. The Jason-1 satellite passed south of the fetch at 15Z and reported seas of 36.1 ft with a peak reading to 39.7 ft where the model suggested 32 ft seas. Nice. That fetch lifted north in the evening with winds down to 40 kts and seas modeled at 38 ft at 55S 151W targeting California up the 199 degree path and east of the Tahiti swell shadow. The Jason-1 satellite passed over the north quadrant of the fetch and reported seas of 35.5 ft with a peak reading of 41.2 ft where the model suggested only 32 ft seas.
Winds built Friday AM at 40-45 kts over a smaller area still lifting and aimed north-northeast with seas 38 ft at 51S 144W (194 degs CA). Again the Jason-1 satellite passed over the south quadrant of the fetch reporting seas of 30.7 ft with a peak at 37.7 ft where the model suggested 28 ft seas. These winds surprisingly held into the evening at 45 kts with seas fading from 36 ft at 46S 138W (191 degs CA). The satellite passed south of the fetch and reported seas at 33.3 ft with a peak to 40.4 ft where the model suggested only barely 28 ft seas.
Additional 40-45 kts more westerly fetch occurred Saturday AM (9/25) with 36 ft seas at 46S 128W (186 degs CA) and continuing if not building more solidly at 45 kts into the evening but aimed more if not almost due east. 38 ft seas were tracking east from 44S 120W and starting to move out of the CA swell window. The Jason-1 satellite passed over the Western quadrant of the storm reporting seas at 30.6 ft with one readying to 39.7 ft where the model suggested only 29 ft seas. Another good sign.
45 kt fetch was pushing east Sunday AM (8/26) on the edge of the CA swell window with a small area of 36 ft seas at 45S 113W (out of the CA swell window) tracking fast east and offering only swell for Chile and maybe Peru with 32 ft seas in the CA swell window at 42S 120W. The Jason-1 satellite confirmed seas at 32.6 ft with one peak reading to 37.1 ft just west of the core of the gale. the model had seas at 34 ft. Winds fading from 35 kts in the evening with no seas in the California swell window and 32 ft seas fading at 47S 105W targeting Chile. A quick fade after that.
This system exceeded expectations and developed stronger than originally forecast. We haven't seen that in a long time. Additionally the Jason-1 satellite made mult.cgie passes over the fetch and the data came back better than what the models were suggesting every time. All passes were over the periphery of the storm, but this suggests it might have been even stronger than what was modeled. This all looks very promising. And in regards to California, the storm pushed well to the north likely setting up significant class energy pushing towards the CA coast. Swell is already in the water and pushing north and northeast. Solid energy is also bound down into Central America with additional fetch later in the storms life forecast aimed more to the east, targeting Chile and Peru. And even small sideband energy is to radiating up into Hawaii from the first day of the storms life off Antarctic Ice.
Hawaii: Residuals on Friday (8/31) with swell fading from 1.6 ft @ 16 secs early (2.5-3.0 ft). Swell fading Saturday (9/1) from 1.4 ft @ 14 secs (2 ft). Swell Direction: 178-180 degrees.
Southern CA: Expect swell arrival starting Thursday (8/30) with period 23 secs dropping to 22 secs late and size maybe to 1.6 ft (3.5 ft with sets to 4.5 ft). On Friday (8/31) size to steadily be on the increasing from 2.6 ft @ 20 secs (5.2 ft with sets to 6.5 ft) pushing to 3.3 ft @ 19 secs late 6.3 ft with sets to 7.8 ft) at sunset. Swell to start peaking overnight into Saturday AM (9/1) at 3.6 ft @ 17-18 secs (6.3 ft with sets to 7.9 ft) and occasional readings to 3.7 ft @ 18 secs (6.5-8.0 ft) with period falling to 17 secs late. Swell from the original fetch to start settling down on Sunday AM (9/2) with swell still in the 3.0-3.3 ft @ 15-16 sec range (4.5-5.3 ft with sets to 6.5 ft) with additional sideband energy arriving from a very southerly direction at 2.2 ft @ 17-18 secs (3.9 ft with sets to 4.8 ft). Swell Direction: Initially 192-197 degrees turning to 180 degrees
North CA: Expect swell arrival starting Thursday night (8/30) with period 23 secs and size maybe to 1 ft and likely not noticeable. On Friday (8/31) size to steadily be on the increase pushing 2.7 ft @ 19-20 secs at sunset (5.3 ft with sets to 6.5 ft). Swell to start peaking on Saturday AM (9/1) at 3.3 ft @ 18 secs (6.0 ft with sets to 7.5 ft) and occasional readings to 3.6 ft @ 18 secs (6.5-8.0 ft) with period fading towards 17 secs late. Swell from the original fetch to start settling down on Sunday AM (9/2) with swell still in the 3.0-3.3 ft @ 16 sec range (4.8-5.3 ft with sets to 6.6 ft) with additional sideband energy arriving from a very southerly direction at 2.2 ft @ 18 secs (4.0 ft with sets to 5 ft). Swell Direction: Initially 191-196 degrees turning to 180 degrees
South Pacific Animations: Jetstream - Surface Pressure/Wind - Sea Height - Surf Height
LONG-TERM FORECAST
Marine weather and forecast conditions 3-10 days into the future
North Pacific
Beyond 72 hours just more local north windswell is forecast for the Central and North CA coast into Wed (9/5) then starting to fade. The models continue to tease that the remnants of Typhoon Bolaven are to try and redevelop while pushing east off Kamchatka late Friday (8/31) with winds 25 kts, but not getting even marginally well defined till Sunday (9/2) when they move in the Northeast Gulf of Alaska. Additional energy to move into the area with winds building to 30-35 kts pushing near 40 kts with seas to 20 ft, early Monday for 12 hrs, then quickly fading. Maybe minimal swell to result for the Pacific Northwest up into Canada if one is to believe the models. Additional energy is also forecast moving into the area late in the week. Hard to believe.
MJO/ENSO Update
Note: The Madden Julian Oscillation 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 equatorial Pacific it is in control of, and in it's Active Phase by slack if not an outright reversal of trade winds and enhanced 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.cgianet. 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. During the Inactive Phase the jet stream tends to .cgiit resulting in high pressure and less potential for swell producing storm development. The paragraphs below analyze the state of the MJO in the Pacific and provide forecasts for MJO activity (which directly relate to the potential for swell production).
As of Thursday (8/30) the daily Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) dropped to 0.42 93 days in a row at +2 or less). The 30 day average was up some at -6.63 with the 90 day average at -5.68. The Inactive Phase of the MJO theoretically was in control of the Pacific, but the SOI sure wasn't showing it. And two tropical systems in the far West Pacific (earlier this week) and Hurricane Ileana in the East Pacific (currently) during the core of the Inactive Phase, also hints to it's weakness.
Current equatorial wind analysis indicated very weak east anomalies on the dateline but fading to neutral anomalies over the entire Maritime Continent (WPac) with hints of west anomalies over Indonesia. Neutral anomalies were over the Central and East Pacific on into Central America. This suggests the Inactive Phase was dissipating over the dateline (a good thing for maintaining the warm water pump). A week from now (9/7) east anomalies are forecast to be rebuilding over the Maritime Continent, suggesting a revival of the Inactive Phase. But this forecast is driven by a dynamic model. If this.cgiays out as forecast, that would be a bad outcome (more below).
The longer range models (dynamic and statistical) run on 8/29 are in complete disagreement over the long term outlook. Both suggest the Active Phase is building in the Indian Ocean but the statistical model suggests the Inactive Phase is to dissipate completely 3 days from now with the Active Phase moving from the Indian Ocean to the Maritime Continent by 9/3 and building there on over the dateline 2 weeks out, and pretty solidly. Interestingly the dynamic model has the Inactive Phase backing off just slightly 5 days out, then rebuilding to moderate.cgius strength 2 weeks out with the Active Phase in the Indian Ocean dissipating. So a total contrary forecast remains presented by the two models. Clearly one of these forecasts is incorrect. For now we'll continue to be somewhat concerned that the current Inactive Phase could redevelop and degrade what is already a weak eastward moving warm water transport pattern (feeding the warm pool off Ecuador and Columbia). But if the Inactive Phase is gone 5 days from now (Wed 9/5), then we'll likely be pushing into a new Active Phase. And it seems odd that a building Active Phase in the Indian Ocean would give way to a new Inactive Phase in the extreme West Pacific. One might guess that the dynamic models don;t have a good handle on seasonal transitions compounded by the transition from La Nina to El Nino. or maybe we're just wishful thinking.
More warm water in the equatorial East Pacific means more storm production in the North Pacific during winter months (roughly speaking). Warmer than normal water accumulated off Ecuador through 7/2 (part of a continuous pattern that started in Jan 2012) fueled by a Kelvin Wave, weaker than normal trades and a MJO pattern dominated by the Active Phase in early April and a continued weak MJO signal beyond. The warm water pattern peaked on 7/2 in an unmistakable El Nino-like configuration. Since then (through 8/30) a steady but weak degradation of the warm pool has occurred, but areal coverage actually expanded and has now reaching solidly up into Southern CA. Also of interest is the recent degradation of the cool pool that has dominated between California and Hawaii and a steady build up of very warm water migrating east from Japan towards the US West coast (presumably driven by the north quadrant of the North Pacific High). Also something that almost looks like a weak Kelvin Wave appears to be propagating east both subsurface (2 deg C anomaly at 120W) and at the surface (1 deg C anomaly). If this is real, it would help to r.cgienish the warm water pool. If it is not a Kelvin wave, then a more troubling pattern might be setting up. To make matters worse, the most recent updates (8/27 & 8/30) depicted a thin trail of cooler than normal water starting to track west off Ecuador on the equator, right through the heart of the warm pool, and building. This is likely caused by trades blowing in that area dispersing warm water north and west with insufficient subsurface warm water to r.cgienish the warm surface waters being dispersed above. We are in need of a warm water source to stabilize the warm pool, and quickly. Hopefully that supposed Kelvin wave will do the trick. Will know in the next few weeks as it impacts the Ecuadorian coast.
A weak MJO pattern (both Active and Inactive Phases) is a sign of the weak version of El Nino. Strong Active Phases accompanied by Westerly Wind Bursts (WWB) is a sign of a strong El Nino. Given the data to date, the current event is looking more like a weak El Nino at best. As we move into the Fall months (starting late August), the tendency is for whatever pattern has been dominant to only become a.cgiified. In short, the true MJO character will become exposed in Fall, with summer just being a build-up. The expectation is that a near failure of the MJO could occur with trades fading and more slow-but-steady warm water propagation continuing eastward. If this happens the question then becomes: Will it be slow enough and weak enough to turn into a multi-year warm event, or will the atmosphere switch as usual in February 2013 and usher in a new La Nina. It's way to early to know.
At this time there is only limited atmospheric evidence of a possible El Nino pattern in.cgiay (as of 8/21). Remnants of La Nina are still affecting the atmosphere and will likely continue for several months into the middle of Fall (mid-Oct), but steadily degrading. One such indicator is the continued presence of high pressure over the Eastern Pacific. It has been locked in.cgiace for 2 years now and it's momentum is not going to be easily be halted. The high has caused drought conditions over portions of North America and unrelenting north winds pushing down the California coast and stronger than normal trades over Hawaii. The high is evidenced by a large pool of cooler than normal water radiating southeast off California and over Hawaii reaching the equator at the dateline, the result of enhanced upwelling. But recent imagery suggest the high is shifting west some and north winds along the California coast are becoming less of an issue, with local water temperatures on the rise. This could be attributed to the change in season, or a fading La Nina, or a combination of both. We're in a hybrid atmospheric state but the trend is starting to shift more towards the normal category. The longer the MJO remains biased towards a neutral or Active state, and the longer warm water holds if not builds off Central America, and the more the cool pool fades between CA and Hi, the more the atmosphere will respond (especially come Fall) turning towards at least a neutral if not an El Nino-like configuration. The atmosphere is like a big ship, it takes a long time to turn. We remain on the bubble as of this date. Historical Note: It is unusual for El Nino (of any magnitude) to develop directly following 2 years of La Nina.
As of right now its seems the Active Phases of the MJO are not strong enough to usher in some flavor of real El Nino, but the Inactive Phases are not strong enough to shut off the warm water pump to the East Pacific either. Regardless, we are effectively past the La Nina hump and the tendency will be for a return to a normal if not slightly El Nino-like enhanced state. All this is way better than where we've been for the past 2 years (under the influence of La Nina).
See imagery in the ENSO Powertool and more details in the El Nino update.
South Pacific
Beyond 72 hours a storm is forecast in the extreme Southeast Pacific with winds to 50 kts and seas to 40 ft by late Tues (9/4), but all fetch is to be aimed due south towards Antarctica. No swell is to be radiating north towards our forecast area.
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
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Local Interest
Chasing Mavericks - The Jay Moriarty Movie: Two trailers for the new movie about Jay, Frosty and Mavericks has been posted. Movie opens on 10/26/12. Here's the link: http://www.mtv.com/videos/movie-trailers/818957/chasing-mavericks.jhtml & http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNdYoX9Vfxg&feature=relmfu
Props from the Pros: Stormsurf was mentioned over the past week in two different media sources. One was in an interview Kelly Slater did with the New York Times and another was in a promotional piece Ramon Navarro did for the Big Wave World Tour. Many thanks to Curt Myers from Powerline Productions for alerting us and of course thanks to Kelly, Ramon and the Tour for using our service. Here's the links:
http://travel.nytimes.com/2012/05/27/travel/kelly-slaters-wave-finding-tips.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRSIkqpCqjU&feature=g-all-u
Steve Colleta Surfboards - Check out surfboards by local shaper Steve Coletta - A long time Santa Cruz local and master shaper. Progressive shapes for North and Central CA waves http://www.naturalcurvesboards.com
Chasing the Swell has been nominated for a Webby Award. See details of this great piece of video journalism below. Some say this is the "Oscars" of online awards.One of the awards is voter based. If you have a moment,.cgiease cast your ballot by going to: http://webby.aol.com, register, then click on the "Get Voting" tab and then to the "Online Film and Video" > "Sports" category and vote for "Chasing the Swell".
Timmy Reyes - Curt Myers from Powerlines Productions found this little gem with Timmy Reyes providing a brief statement about which sites he uses for swell chasing. Thought we'd pass it on. Enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P30ZCQOsYwY
Buell Wetsuits - When surfing in Santa Cruz, we've been seeing a new wetsuit in the line-up worn by many top flight surfers. They're getting good traction and are well respected. Take a look: http://www.buellwetsuits.com/
Stormsurf Mobile App (1/9/11) We are proud to announce the official public release of our smartphone mobile app. It provides access to our most popular and commonly used products, optimized for use on the road, on the beach or anywhere you don't have a desktop or laptop. With a smart phone and signal, you will have access to our data. And we're not talking just a few teaser products - We're talking full feature wave models, weather models, real-time buoy data, manually built forecasts and hundreds of spot wave and wind forecasts enabling you to construct a surf forecast for any location on the.cgianet, all from your cell phone and all for free. No subscription required and no hidden fees. And better yet, there's a few new things sprinkled in that are not yet available even on our full-featured web site. From your smart phones browser just navigate to: www.stormsurf.com/mobile
Chasing The Swell: Sachi Cunningham from the LA Times spent the entirety of last winter chasing surfers and swells around the North Pacific with her high def video cam. Her timing couldn't have been any better with the project exactly coinciding with the strongest El Nino in 12 years resulting in the best big wave season in a decade. And being an acco.cgiished surfer herself helped her to bring a poignant and accurate account of the what it's like to ride big waves and the new (and some not so new) personalities that are revitalizing the sport. This is must-see material for any surfer or weather enthusiast. Check it out here: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/chasingtheswell/
New Weather Models With the activation of our new server we have now released a new block of weather models including North America jetstream, wind and precipitation, local coastal wind forecasts in 1 hr increments and snow and mountain wind forecasts in both 1 and 3 hours increments. The new animations can be found here (look for those items tagged with the New! icon): http://www.stormsurf.com/mdls/menu_wx.html
New Weather Model Server Stormsurf has installed another weather model production server. This has enabled us to spread the load across more servers allowing us to post both wave and weather model updates much quicker. Also we are testing new content (like North America jetstream, winds and precipitation, local wind forecasts in 1 hr increments and snow and mountain wind forecasts in both 1 and 3 hours increments). The model menus will be updated shortly with these new links.
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New Wave Model Facts: Click HERE to read more about the new wave models. Important info.
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.
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!
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Surf Height-Swell Height Correlation Table
