4DAY 4CAST
Settling for wind swells
by Michael Durand
We’re half way through December, and swell wise, it seems Mother Nature is asleep at the wheel, again. Hopefully she snaps out of it soon and starts throwing some legitimate ground swells our way. Summer was bad enough. It’s time for her to punch the clock and make up for lost time
Thursday morning should see a little bump in size when a fresh, medium interval, wind swell moves in. The better west facing beaches will be in the chest- to shoulder-high-plus zone.
The tide will soften things up for the dawn patrol with a 5.19 foot high at 5:23 a.m., but it will quickly recede through the morning.
Conditions should be okay, with light and variable winds at 2-4 m.p.h. through the morning and 8-12 m.p.h. out of the NW in the afternoon. We’ll see an air temp of 63 degrees and mostly sunny skies.
Friday morning should see continued wind swell energy for the better West facing breaks. Top spots should go at least waist to chest high.
The tide will, once again, start off high for the early birds, but drain out fast through the morning and into the early afternoon.
Breezes are projected to blow out of the E/SE at 3-5 m.p.h. until around noon and then shift to the SW at 6-8 m.p.h. until sundown. It looks like we’ll see cloudy skies, a chance of showers and a chilly air temp of 57 degrees.
Saturday morning will see continued wind swell in the waist to chest high zone, but the impending stormy weather is making the conditions look a little iffy.
High tide will continue to haunt the early mornings for both Saturday and Sunday, but there should be a window of opportunity around mid morning.
The conditions could go either way, but based on the wind models we’re in for breezes out of the ESE at 6-15 m.p.h. all day long. More showers look probable and we should see an air temp of 59 degrees.
Sunday morning should be good for more waist to chest high wind swells. Tides will come into play and the conditions look a little spotty on paper.
The conditions look to have a bit more of an onshore flow to them with winds out of the West at 3-6 m.p.h. right out of the gate. Those are projected to remain through the day so we’ll just have to wait and see what Mother Nature throws our way.
It looks like we’ll see continued cloudy skies and a chance of showers. The air temp will top out at 62 degrees.
The current water temps are as follows: South Bay 57 degrees, Santa Monica 57 degrees, Malibu 57 degrees, Newport 56 degrees and Huntington 60 degrees. ER