A semi-clean mix of easing NW swell and small, peaking SW swell prevails this afternoon. Better breaks through the region have knee-waist high surf, with sets to chest/shoulder high for top spots. Most breaks are looking a little soft, and semi-walled, with pick and choose corners as the tide fills in to a late afternoon high. This morning’s dawn patrol: Clean, scattered peaks, with some fun, lined-up corners on offer.

A weak trough of low pressure today and Thursday will approach and move through Southern California. Today, we’ll continue to see calm-to-light variable wind, with mostly sunny skies and a light afternoon sea breeze.

As the weak front nears the coast Wednesday night and Thursday morning, cloud cover will build over the region with calm to light variable to light south-southwesterly flow. Also, there’s a slight chance for light rain.

By Thursday afternoon, the trough moves out with strong high pressure filling in, bringing a rise of breezy west-northwesterly flow as well as clearing cooler weather.

By Friday and the weekend, we’re expecting cooler temps and mostly sunny skies, as well as light morning winds and moderate afternoon sea breezes.

Overall, we’ll see a gradual decreasing trend in the surf. On Wednesday, the old northwest swell continues to slowly fade as a modest southwest swell holds up.

Most of the better breaks throughout Orange County will offer inconsistent two-foot-to-three-foot-plus (knee-waist high+) surf with top southwesterly exposed spots in the southern half of the county producing occasional bigger waves up to four-foot (chest high).

Over Thursday, both northwest and southwest swells will be on the decline as only top spots produce inconsistent two-foot-to-three-foot (knee-waist high) sets. By Friday, the old swells will continue to ease out as a small northwest wind swell shows, keeping up one-foot-to-two-foot occasional three-foot waves.

Looking further out, the surf will be minimal over the weekend with only one-foot-to-two-foot (ankle-knee high) traces showing at best throughout the region. However, better surf is lining up for next week. Check out Surfline.com for more details and the long-range outlook.

Post from: OC Beach Blog

After the chaos of summer dwindles, the crowds and tourists take off and peace quietly lingers over the sand.

This month has given us a handful of those great surf days that make us remember why we love this sport so much.

It’s because of this transitional time that the surf – especially at beach breaks – is so great, says Sean Collins, chief forecaster at Surfline.com.

“In fall, we get a combo swell – remaining southern hemisphere swells, hurricane swells and early west and northwest swells – to create better shaped waves,” he explains.

“Combine that with offshore winds, and it creates some of the best surfing conditions of the year,” Collins said.

Those offshore winds that typically show in October – while subtle so far this year - also contribute to the amazing sunsets. The wind coming off the land makes it drier and clear of clouds, and the winds whip the dust out to sea, which makes the horizon glow, he says.

Still, the waters are unusually warm, allowing surfers to trunk it or keep their spring suits out. And on Monday, the water was so clear when I sitting on my board in Newport that I could see the patches of seaweed on the ocean’s floor, and the schools of fish swimming nearby.

One of my favorite surf photographers, Diane Edmonds of Eppicsurf.com, has been out tirelessly capturing the beauty along the coast. Enjoy!

Post from: OC Beach Blog

The recent passage of a cold front will keep beach temps cooler than what we’ve seen of late for the middle part of the week. On Wednesday we’ll see breezy northeast wind early, shifting northwest in the afternoon with beach temps topping out around the mid 60’s, with clear skies. The second half of the week will bring slightly warmer weather with sunny skies and very pleasant conditions at the beach; light wind in the mornings will give way to light to moderate onshore westerly winds in the afternoon. Our water temps remain very pleasant for this time of year, mainly in the middle 60’s.
 
Our surf on Wednesday will be a northwest windswell, bringing crossed up and very peaky surf in the 2-4’ range for many spots in the county.  Select spots that really favor the northwest windswell will see waves up to 5-6’. Dropping surf takes over on Thursday (a little more than half the size of Wednesday), with a further decrease in surf on Friday, when it looks quite small.

Heading a little further out, the weekend of Halloween is looking quite small as well; stay tuned to Surfline.com for the latest details on any potential swells. Have fun, be safe and we’ll see you out in the water!

Post from: OC Beach Blog

Capt. Dave’s Dolphin and Whale Watching Safari reported seven sightings Wednesday and 12 sightings on Tuesday. The total number of blue whale sightings so far in October is 45, whereas last year this time there were only a handful of blue whales off our coast.

The blue whale season usually ends in mid-September, and boats start prepping for the gray whales, which come down from Alaska during the winter and can be seen off the Orange County coast on their way to breed in Baja, California.

Random sightings of one or two blue whales happened last year this time, but nothing like the numbers charter boats are seeing now, said Gisele Anderson, Capt. Dave’s wife. Boat captains are reporting massive amount of krill off the coast, which the blue whales eat. The whales are the largest mammals on Earth.

“This is just amazing,” she said.

The blue whales found a home here in Orange County about five years ago, coming down south from Central California. It’s unknown how long they will stick around, likely until their food source runs out.

In the video below taken the other day, it looks as if a blue whale was just as curious as those on the boat - circling around and coming up close to passengers.

“Look at that, he’s right here,” Capt. Dave Anderson says to the passengers on the boat. “Oh my, this thing is just totally checking us out.”

Check out the video here.

For more info on charter boats, click here.  Capt. Dave’s is also the only whale watching boat to stream live video of their trips, so if you are stuck behind a desk, check out the blue whales at whalewatchingtv.com.

Post from: OC Beach Blog

The middle to second half of the work week will bring sunny skies and very pleasant coastal weather, as high pressure builds in over Southern California. Look for temps to top out in the low to mid 70’s each day, while water temps also remain quite warm for this time of year and are in the mid to upper 60’s. Wind conditions, especially in the mornings, will be favorable for surfing and other water related activities: look for light offshore flow out of the east to northeast in the mornings Wednesday through Friday, with a moderate onshore wind out of the west building each afternoon.
 
Our surf looks fun and will be a combination of swells out of both the southwest and west-northwest. For Wednesday look for 2-4’ surf at many breaks throughout the county, while breaks best exposed breaks to the southwest swell in the south half of the county see larger waves up to 5-6’ at times. We’ll also see a small southeast swell wrap into best exposed breaks of North Orange County from former Hurricane Rick. 

A larger west-northwest swell will build in for the second half of the week. While select breaks will start to see some new waves from this swell Thursday afternoon, the largest waves from it will show on Friday when the better breaks see 3-5’ surf. Select, top exposed breaks, mainly in the north half of the county, pick up 6-7’ waves on the largest sets. Those waves then wind down over the weekend. While the long range forecast outlook isn’t quite as promising as the second half of this week, we do have more waves on the way. Be sure to check the forecast at Surfline.com for further details. Have fun, be safe and we’ll see you out in the water!

Post from: OC Beach Blog

The crew over at Seal Beach Daily shot me a story saying the county is going to stop water quality testing from Nov. 1 through March 31.

That’s weird, because that’s when the water is the nastiest after the rains, and really when we see how much gross germs end up in the water.

I guess Bolsa Chica south will still get tested, but sucks for the people at Seal Beach. The city manager is looking at ways to privately fund testing.

Read more from the Seal Beach Daily story here.

Post from: OC Beach Blog

OC Register’s

Here’s a bit more:

Citing impacts to public safety and the environment, Newport Beach is looking at doing away with its beach bonfire pits, a symbol of nighttime nostalgia now also associated with 24/7 headaches.

“Sometimes it’s a family thing, but also we’ve had a lot of issues with people staying till after the beach is closed,” said Councilwoman Nancy Gardner, leader of the push to remove the concrete circles.

“It comes to be that the fire ring is more of a party ring; we tend to get more drinking than if it were just a plain old beach.”

Read more from his story here.

Post from: OC Beach Blog

A Pacific storm off the California coast will be a major player in our surf and weather conditions over the next couple days. We saw a bit of rain Tuesday, and could continue to see scattered showers through Wednesday afternoon. By later Wednesday afternoon, and especially for the second half of the week, we’ll see clearing skies and very pleasant beach weather. Ocean surface conditions will be stormy early Wednesday with southerly wind, but should clean up through the afternoon as wind is expected to back down significantly. For Thursday and Friday, look for mainly light wind early morning and smooth surface conditions before moderate to strong west wind builds in the afternoons.

Our surf will be building throughout the day on Wednesday and hold Thursday out of a westerly direction, thanks to the same storm off the coast mentioned above. Wednesday morning will start off relatively slow but by the afternoon and evening lots of breaks pick up 4-6’ surf, while top breaks see larger waves up to 8’++. Look for dropping surf on Friday, and smaller waves through the weekend.

We’ll also see a nice size south swell building Thursday, peaking Friday, and then slowly fading over the weekend. The combo of south and west swells will create peaky conditions at the beachbreaks Thursday and Friday, along with favorable morning conditions and the surf will be really fun throughout much of Orange County. One thing to watch out for is the big 5-6’ morning high tides Wednesday through Friday, which will slow the surf down at many breaks.

While the long range forecast outlook isn’t quite as promising as the second half of this week, we do have more waves on the way. Be sure to check the forecast at Surfline.com for further details. Have fun, be safe and we’ll see you out in the water!

Post from: OC Beach Blog

We’re in the midst of the first big rain of the season, and for those hoping to hit the swell coming in Wednesday, you might want to reconsider.

The beaches are always a mess after the first big rain following the dry season, with all kinds of interesting and weird things making their way to the sand via water systems that stretch inland and connect to the ocean, such as the Santa Ana River in Newport Beach or San Gabriel River in Seal Beach.

The envirnomental group Heal the Bay sent out a warning for southland residents to avoid beaches for 72 hours after heavy rainfall.

After heavy rains, outfalls “spew man-made debris, animal waste, pesticides, automotive fluids and human-gastrointestinal viruses into the marine ecosystem. This pollution poses human health risks, harms marine life and dampens the tourist economy by littering shorelines.”

EW.  

They also note that exposure to runoff can cause illnesses such as the stomach flu.

Lifeguard Chief Joe Bailey in Seal Beach said the massive flush handn’t happened yet at the San Gabriel River (as of about 1 p.m.), but will likely happen after tonight’s rain.

How can you help diminish the nastiness that flows to our ocean?

Heal the Bay recommends: Keep trash out of gutters and storm drains, dispose of animal waste and automotive fluids properly, and avoid overwatering lawns and plants. For more tips, go to http://www.healthebay.org/waystoheal

Post from: OC Beach Blog

xxx

While the storm expected to bring rain to Orange County won’t be a huge or powerful storm,Surfline chief forecaster Sean Collins says the coast will see waves and low-lying homes in the Sunset/Seal Beach area might even get a bit of flooding.

The solid west swell will bring waves in Seal Beach and Sunset in the 4-6-foot range on Wednesday afternoon and Thursday, with Huntington a couple of feet larger, he wrote in an e-mail.

 The swell period will be short - between 10 and 15 seconds between sets — meaning some may end up doubling up in size or overlapping.  

He notes that although it’s not a major flooding situation, homeowners might want to take important items off their garage floors and pick up a few sand bags for protection.

For more info on this storm, see Sciencedude’s blog about the upcoming rainfall.

Post from: OC Beach Blog