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 Tuesday (11/8) North and Central CA was seeing residual northeast Gulf swell still hitting up north with waves 1 ft overhead and clean and nicely lined up with glassy conditions. Down south wrap around energy was chest high or so and modestly textured with kelp breaking up outer chop. Southern California was small up north with north swell barely knee high and nearly chopped. Down south surf was effectively flat and heavily textured. Hawaii's North Shore was effectively flat with waves maybe waist high on the sets and clean. The South Shore was flat and clean. The East Shore was getting easterly tradewind generated windswell with waves waist to maybe chest high and chopped by the trades.
See QuikCASTs for the 5 day surf overview or read below for the detailed view
Meteorological Overview
Swell was fading along exposed break in California from a gale that developed in the Northeastern Gulf last weekend producing 24 ft seas, then pushed southeast into Oregon Sunday with seas down to 19 ft. By Wednesday that swell should fading out. One more larger local gale is forecast developing off North CA on Wed-Thurs (11/10) with maybe near 32 ft seas but aimed mostly south of the Golden State. Still some moderate westerly angled sideband raw protoswell is expected into the US West Coast, focused mainly on Central CA late week with energy down into Southern CA for the weekend. Also two small pulses of gale energy are forecast for the dateline, one on Friday with 22 ft seas and the second Sun-Tues (11/15) with 28 ft seas, offering a smidgen of swell potential for Hawaii (assuming the models are correct). But the big issue remains that high pressure is to continue locked north of Hawaii pushing the storm track through the Bering Sea. The Active Phase of the MJO is to kick in later in the week and theoretically might help clear that problem out, but that remains purely wishful thinking at this time.
SHORT- TERM FORECAST
Current marine weather and wave analysis.cgius forecast conditions for the next 72 hours
North Pacific
Overview
On Tuesday (11/8) the jetstream was flowing generally flat east Japan then .cgiitting before even reaching the dateline with most energy ridging northeast tracking above the Aleutian Islands through the Eastern Bering Sea before falling south into a steep trough centered off the Canadian coast, then pushing inland over Canada from there. The southern branch was tracking east generally on the 25N latitude over Hawaii and into Baja. A large area of upper high pressure is controlling the storm track, nestled in between the two .cgiit streams and centered just north of Hawaii, typical of La Nina. Over the next 72 hours the steep trough off Canada is to fall further south, then cut off circulating off Central CA on Thursday (11/10) and drifting east, eventually moving into the Pt Conception area on Sun (11/13). Limited support for weak gale development in this trough. Otherwise a weak trough is to try and develop just west of the dateline on Thurs-Fri (11/11) but is to loose wind energy and dissolve. Limited support for gale development there. Beyond 72 hours another trough is to try and develop just west of the dateline on Sun (11/13) but is to dissolve before making much headway. Limited support for gale development at best. Of more concern is a large ridge that is to take stronger hold over the East Pacific north of Hawaii by Saturday (11/12) holding while easing east. The good news is the .cgiit point for the jet is to east east with it, moving to the dateline by Tues (11/15). But no real troughs of interest are forecast. In all, a real quiet upper level pattern is forecast.
At the surface on Tuesday (11/8) high pressure at 1032 mbs was over the Western Gulf of Alaska. A strong winter storm was building and filling the Bering Sea with 50 kts winds, but all obscured from the Pacific by the Aleutians Islands. East trades were blowing from off Baja Mexico over the Hawaiian Islands generating small short period easterly windswell there. Of some interest was a new gale falling south from the Northern Gulf with north winds at 45 kts (see Cutoff Gulf Gale below).
Over the next 72 hours the Cutoff Gulf Gale is to continue evolving (details below). Also weak undefined low pressure is to be tracking off Japan to the northeast and trying to organize. By Thursday AM (11/10) it is to have 30 kt winds trying to build in it's south quadrant pushing near 40 kts in the evening getting some traction on the oceans surface. By Friday AM (11/11) winds to be fading from 35 kts with seas building to 22 ft at 36N 172E (305 degs HI but pushing mostly south of those great circle tracks). By the evening limited 30 kt north winds to persist with seas fading from 20 ft at 35N 175E. Maybe some limited sideband background energy to result for the Hawaiian Islands at best.
Cutoff Gulf Gale
A new gale was falling from the the extreme Eastern Bering Sea into the Gulf of Alaska Tuesday AM (11/8) with 45 kt north winds modeled generating 20 ft seas up at 47N 158W and falling southeast. In the evening 40 kt north winds are to continue falling southeast into a new developing low pressure center wrapping up just off the Washington Coast. Seas 20 ft at 45N 151W. Wed AM (11/9) a full broad gale is to be circulating with 30-35 kts north winds 600 nmiles off the coast of Oregon and Cape Mendocino. Seas 22 ft and building at 39N 146W (286 degs NCal/295 degs SCal). 40 kt north winds to build in the gales north quadrant (off Oregon) Wed PM with 22 ft seas building there (35-45N 142W) (same swell directions as before). The gale and fetch is to fall south on Thursday AM with most fetch 7500 nmiles off Oregon at 40-45 kts aimed south with seas to 30 ft tracking down the outer coast at 41N 140W (45 degs south of the 285 deg path to NCal/50 degs south of the 298 deg path to SCal). In the evening fetch is to be fading from 35 kts but falling due south with near 32 ft seas at 36N 140W targeting no land mass. Friday AM (11/11) residual 30 kt westerly fetch is to finally wrap into the gales south quadrant targeting South CA with 26 ft seas from previous fetch at 33N 134W (275 degs SCal but tracking well south of those paths).
The most likely outcome is raw sideband swell for the Central CA coast with maybe some energy wrapping into Southern CA. Something to monitor.
North Pacific Animations: Jetstream - Surface Pressure/Wind - Sea Height - Surf Height
Tropics
No tropical systems of interest were being monitored.
California Nearshore Forecast
On Tuesday (11/8) a new local gale was wrapping up off Oregon with 25 kt west winds pushing up to but not reaching buoy 46006 720 nmiles off Northern CA. Wednesday south winds to lightly build over all of Central CA and up to 20 kt over extreme North CA (Cape Mendocino). Southern CA to be near calm. The core of the low is to fall south well off Big Sur late on Thursday with south winds at 15-20 kts for all of North and Central CA and continuing into Friday AM, then turning offshore for the SF bay Area northward as the core of the low passes south of the area, but still south for Pt Conception and building into Southern CA. Light ran pushing into the Central CA coast Friday AM and building through the day. Light snow for Southlake down to Mammoth in the evening. Friday the low is to turn east and start pushing into Southern CA with south winds 20 kts late afternoon and building while an offshore flow takes hold for Central CA. By Saturday (11/12) high pressure is to be well off the coast, but not reaching nearshore with an offshore flow for all of Central CA but south winds at 15 kts for all of Southern CA as the core of the low approaches from the west. Rain continues from maybe San Francisco southward into Southern CA. The low is to dissolve off Southern CA on Sunday (11/13) though light rain to continue early for Southern CA, and more rain moving into the north end of the state from yet another weak ill defined system. High pressure induced north winds expected taking over Northern CA, light winds for Central CA and south winds 10 kts for Southern CA. By Monday the low is to be gone and high pressure is to be in control again for the entire state with north winds at 15 kts to be the rule. Still lingering light rain to hang over Central CA with rain possible for Tahoe too.
South Pacific
Overview
At the surface on Tuesday (11/8) in the South Pacific no swell producing fetch was occurring. Over the next 72 hours no change is forecast.
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 hrs another gale is to push off Japan Fri-Sat (11/12). By Sat PM (11/12) 45 kt northwest winds are forecast mid-way between Japan and the dateline then fading by Sun AM with winds down to 35 kts and still west of the dateline. The good news is the fetch, limited as it might be is to be aimed well at Hawaii. Seas forecast building to 29 ft Sun AM (11/13) at 37N 167E then fading to 24 ft in the evening at 37N 171E. The models suggest this system is to somehow reorganize Monday tracking east-northeast with winds to 40 kts and seas 29 ft Monday PM at 40N 178W. Maybe some energy is to be radiating towards Hawaii if all goes as.cgianned. What is most interesting is that this system is to not immediately get deflected off to the north, but is to make some progress over the dateline and into the Western Gulf of Alaska. If this occurs, this will be the first system to acco.cgiish that this season and is a possible sign of the coming Active Phase of the MJO.
Beyond a far larger and stronger system is forecast pushing east off the Kuril Islands on Wed (11/16), but that is pure guess-work at this early date.
MJO/ENSO Update
As of Tuesday (11/8) the daily Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) was up some at 13.04. The 30 day average was up slightly at 10.79 with the 90 day average up slightly at 8.30.
Current wind analysis indicated significant westerly anomalies were blowing over Indonesia to the Philippines and New Guinea, then dead neutral from there to the dateline with weak east anomalies over the Central Pacific. This suggests the Active Phase of the MJO was building over the extreme West Pacific with the Inactive Phase pushing east through the Central Pacific. But we have already had one false start and am not willing to say definitively that the Active Phase is in-fact moving in. And as such, the models indicate a week from now that moderate easterly anomalies are to be back in.cgiay from the Philippines over the Central Pacific with no sign of prolonged westerly anomalies. This was our big hope for the Active Phase of the MJO. But other longer range models all suggest that the Active Phase of the MJO is already well entrenched (starting about 11/7) in the West Pacific and is to move over the Central Pacific 2 weeks out (11/21). The 40 day upper level model is suggesting the same. This window is our best shot at swell, until the next Active Phase appears probably not till the later half of December, with a strong burst of the Inactive Phase forecast starting about early December over the extreme West Pacific, likely shutting swell producing storm production down.
Sea Surface Temp anomaly data (11/7) continues to indicate that cooler waters (-1 C degs) had a grip on the equator covering from a point south of Southern CA to the dateline and increasing their coverage. Embedded were pulses of cooler water still pushing from east to west. Cooler than normal waters were also present in feeder bands originating off the US West Coast and Chile sweeping fully to the intersection of the dateline and the equator, serving to continue the existing La Nina pattern. This is typically what is referred to as a 'horseshoe pattern'. At least the cooler waters off the US West Coast were not expanding coverage anymore nor getting cooler as they had in late July into August. But warmer than normal waters are not building any over the Galapagos Islands, and if anything were getting eroded pretty quickly on into Central America. Overall the big picture looks very much like La Nina.
Below the surface on the equator things are unchanged. Colder than normal water that had been locked all winter (2010-2011) southeast of Hawaii under the equator evaporated in late February 2011, then returned starting in early July. An impenetrable wall of colder than normal water (-3 degs C) developed in mid-July locked at 140W separating warm anomalies in the east and west, blocking any eastward progress of warmer subsurface water. There were some fluctuations but by late July it remained locked in.cgiace and held strong in August with waters -5 deg C below normal and holding strength and position on the equator and south of Hawaii. It lost a little strength in September and October but not much. As of 11/7 it was still in.cgiace under the equator at 120W at -3 C below normal and stalled. This area of cool subsurface water was blocking the normal warm flow to the east and suggests that overall a pattern biased towards the Inactive Phase of the MJO was in control.
Ocean currents for the equatorial Pacific on 9/5 were unchanged from the previous month flowing anomalously west in the far West Pacific with a small pocket of strong easterly flow at 120W. Previously we found anomalies developed flowing from west to east starting in February and were continuing through June 2011 (a little weaker towards mid-June than earlier in the month). Westerly anomalies continued in July to (thru 7/22) Easterly anomalies were isolated to a small area on the equator at 120W. We oft look at such symptoms as an El Nino indicator, but that does not seem likely given all the other data. But that co.cgied with a falling SOI at least it depicts a tendency towards normal conditions. Will monitor. Historically it is very unlikely if not impossible to have an El Nino form directly behind a La Nina. More typical is several years of a slow buildup before an actual El Nino event occurs. This suggest the warm waters currently pooling up off Ecuador will likely dissipate as summer progresses but at the same time, the cooler than normal horseshoe pattern over the North and South Pacific will dissipate too.
Remnants of what was a moderate.cgius strength La Nina Pattern (where the Inactive Phase takes control) are still evident and momentum from this La Nina event are expected to hold well into the Spring of 2012. In short, it's going to be tough for surfers on west facing shores in the Eastern Pacific and Eastern Atlantic, though east facing shores of the West Pacific and Atlantic might do well from the Inactive Phase's dominance, especially in summer months. That is not to say there will be no storms, in fact, there could be short periods of intense activity when the Active Phase gets an opportunity to come to fruition, but that will be the exception rather than the rule, with the Inactive Phase trying to keep a cap on storm activity.
See imagery in the ENSO Powertool and more details in the El Nino update.
South Pacific
Beyond 72 hours no swell producing fetch of interest 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
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Local Interest
Powerlines Productions, Big Wave Filmmakers since 1994, deliver their latest project, Super Natural on November 3rd in San Francisco at the Balboa Theater at 7:15 PM. The documentary film takes you on a tour with some of the best big wave surfers in the world riding giant waves from powerful Pacific winter storm systems. Filmed during the epic El Niño and La Niña winter seasons the movie takes you on an insiders journey to the fa bled big wave breaks of Maui's Pe'ahi (Jaws) and Northern California's Mavericks . World class surfers and underground legends tell their stories as they go back to the roots of paddling into giant waves thought to be unfeasible years ago without the use of jet skis. Mixed with a hand picked soundtrack and edge-of-your-seat highlights, see what makes these athletes 'Super Natural' as they risk it all chasing waves and dreams for the ultimate thrill. Featured Surfers: Shane Dorian, Chris Bertish, Danilo Couto, Yuri Soledade, Carlos Burle, Ion Banner, Travis Payne, Alex Martins, Tim West, Twiggy, Greg & Rusty Long, Shawn Dollar, Peter Mel, Skindog Collins, Ed Guzman, Pato Teixeira and Zach Wormhoudt. Advance tickets here: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/204985
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
Mavericks Surf Shop Grand Opening - Sunday, December 19 2:00 - 6:00 p.m. rain or shine! Check out the new home of Jeff Clark's Mavericks Surf Shop, now located at 25 Johnson Pier in Pillar Point Harbor. The shop features much of Clark's surfing memorabilia, classic boards and photos, as well as an entirely new line of Jeff Clark original Mavericks clothing, accessories and surfboards. The shop has been open in the new location since December 8, and the Grand Opening party is set for this coming Sunday, just in time for Christmas. The party starts at 2 p.m., with live music, food and drinks. Jeff Clark and many Mavericks surfers will be there to meet the public. Local restaurants Ketch Joanne's and Princeton Seafood will serve up delicious food, while San Francisco Wine Trading Company is providing the beverages. The shop will be open all weekend, from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
Stormsurf Maintenance Upgrades: Buoy 46059 and 46012 were r.cgiaced a month or so ago. Totally new buoys were installed. Here on Stormsurf we had to reset the algorithms used to calculate 'pure swell' for them. That was acco.cgiished on 11/13. Pure swell numbers are now correct. Links: 46012, 46059
Also since we moved to the new weather model server last month we discovered that our Longrange Precipitation Models ceased to display frozen precipitation (as they once did). Some of our scripts did not get installed on the new server. That has been fixed (11/13) and now snow is again viewable worldwide. Here the new North America sa.cgie.
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
