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 Saturday (10/31) North and Central California was getting no rideable surf with waves thigh high or less with fog and calm wind early. Southern California was flat with waves no larger than thigh high at the top spots and glassy with no fog. Hawaii's North Shore was getting leftover dateline windswell at shoulder to head high with new swell from ET Lupit building underneath, but not as big as hoped for (only chest high) but slowly on the increase with light wind with glassy conditions early. The East Shore had shoulder to head high wrap around dateline swell at exposed breaks with onshore winds and chopped. The South Shore had some thigh high sets and clean.
The forecast for North and Central CA is for increasing surf on Sunday, with local swell out of the Eastern Gulf of Alaska hitting at 1-2 ft overhead with luck and swell from Lupit underneath but slowly building, along with the north wind. ET Lupit swell to take over on Monday at 3-4 ft overhead on Monday with better conditions, then slowly filtering out on Tuesday into Wednesday with local north windswell taking over in the chest high range and holding through the end of the workweek. Southern California is to see maybe some of that north Gulf swell arriving late Sunday up north at waist high with ET Lupit building in at the same time but not rideable till Monday and Tuesday in the head high range at better breaks. That swell to be on the downswing by Wednesday with only small local north windswell at thigh high expected after that to the weekend. The North Shore of Hawaii is to see swell from ET Lupit pushing 10-12 ft on the face Sunday, settling down to the double overhead range early Monday. More swell to follow though. The East Shore is to be fading into flatness on Sunday with east windswell gone from the picture and no return forecast for quite a while. The South Shore is to remain near flat through the weekend through Wednesday of next week, when some small southern hemi background swell arrives.
Longterm the MJO is to be moving towards the Inactive Phase not helping to support gale development in the North Pacific for the next 3-4 weeks. High pressure is to take over the dateline region early next week pretty much blocking off the North Pacific Storm Corridor. A weak gale is to drop south towards Hawaii mid-week generating 20-22 ft seas, possibly setting something for the Islands from Wednesday into Thursday (11/5). And a weak gale is forecast tracking into he northeastern Gulf mid-week, possibly setting up some rideable surf for the US West Coast next weekend. But overall a kind of downward trend is expected. Given this is the mighty El Nino winter, things have been pretty lackluster so far. And with the MJO going Inactive, even more of the same is expected. But we still expect thing to turn on, just later in the season. Down south a weak gale pushed under New Zealand Wed/Thurs (10/29) producing 28 ft seas aimed aimed northeast, good for background southern hemi swell for Hawaii mentioned above. So we take what we can get now and hope for better things in the months ahead. No tricks, the treats will come later.
SHORT- TERM FORECAST
Current marine weather and wave analysis.cgius forecast conditions for the next 72 hours
North Pacific
Overview
On Saturday (10/31) the North Pacific jetstream had a reasonably consolidated flow pushing from Japan east over the dateline then on into the Pacific Northwest. But winds were weak at no more than 90-100 kts over it's length with only a weak trough on the dateline and a ridge in the east pushing into the Pacific Northwest. No support for gale development indicated. A new pocket of 180 kt winds was trying to organize over and west inland of the Southern Kuril Islands, but of no use yet. Over the next 72 hrs that pocket of energy over the Kurils is to rapidly build to 190 kts but ridging hard northeast towards the intersection of the dateline and the Aleutians, not offering any support for surface level gale development and if anything supporting high pressure development there. A bit of a trough is forecast forming north of Hawaii Sunday and building into Tuesday (11/3) but getting very steep as 210 kt winds in the ridge to the west steamroll to the east, but also feeding into the near-pinch trough. Some support for gale development there. Beyond 72 hours the Hawaiian trough is to get completely cut off from the main flow, but to continue circulating north of the Islands into Thursday before becoming reabsorbed into the flow. Continued support for gale development there. The bug push of eastward moving energy is to reach into the North Canadian coast on late Wednesday and continue pushing onshore there into the early weekend (11/7), but offering nothing in terms of gale development. A pure flat flow is expected. And behind that just a diffuse weak flow to follow with no energy and no troughs of interest offering nothing in term of supporting gale development dow at the surface.
At the surface on Saturday (10/31) weak high pressure at 1028 mbs was centered over the dateline with anther 1024 mb high just off Central CA. A gale low was over Kamchatka producing 35 kt wes winds and 25 ft seas, but too far away from the Hawaiian Islands to be of any real interest. And a weaker low, which had produced confirmed 30 kt west winds and 21 ft seas off Washington on Friday into early Saturday (10/31) was fading while pushing into the Northern Gulf of Alaska. Only the gale off Washington held any immediate hope of producing swell, mainly for the Pacific Northwest on Saturday with some swell of maybe 6 ft @ 12 secs pushing down into Northern and Central CA on Sunday (11/1). Over the next 72 hours high pressure on the dateline is to build to 1036 mbs on Monday and hold there, slowly fading but pretty much dominating the entire Pacific weather picture though the end of the work week. A small gale is to build on the eastern flank of the high, just north of Hawaii, on Monday (11/2) generating 30 kt north winds at 35N 155W late with seas on the increase, then to near 40 kts on Tuesday (11/3) at 33N 160W with seas building to 23 ft at 32N 160W, then fading from 30-35 kts Wednesday at 27N 165W with seas still in the 23 ft range at 30N 165W. A good portion of this fetch is to be aimed due south right at the Hawaiian Islands with seas pushing in that direction too down the 335-345 degree great circle paths, but also in close proximity to them. Good potential for larger raw 13 sec period swell pushing into the Islands on Wed/Thurs (11/4).
ET Lupit
On Monday evening (10/26) the extratropical remnants of Typhoon Lupit were tracking north-northeast off Japan with a tiny fetch of confirmed 60 kts west winds building in the storms south quadrant at 153E 40N aimed west.
Tuesday AM (10/27) that fetch was building with confirmed winds at 60-70 kts at 43N 156E. 36 ft seas were modeled at 42N 154E. This system built some more in the evening with 60 kt winds confirmed in it's southwest quadrant at 45N 162E aimed well down the 310 degree paths to Hawaii and 20 degrees south of the 303 degree path to NCal. 45 ft seas were modeled at 44N 160E. The Jason-1 satellite passed directly over the core of the fetch but was obscured by rain. But a 15 reading average sea height of 39.4 ft with a peak reading of 41.3 ft was reported over the outer areas, consistent with the wave models.
This storm continued tracking northeast on Wednesday AM (10/28) with 50-55 kt west-northwest winds and a few barbs to 60 kts at 47N 165E aimed well down the 318 degree path to Hawaii and 20 degrees south of the 303 degree path to Central CA. A small area of 42 ft seas was modeled at 47N 166W. This seems a bit low. In the evening a quick fade occurred with 40-45 kt northwest winds confirmed in the storms southwest quadrant at 49N 170E aimed down the 326 degree path to Hawaii and 30 degrees south of the 306 degree path to Central CA. 38 ft seas modeled at 47-49N 172E pushing mostly due east.
Thursday AM (10/29) this system was decaying fast with a tiny area of 40 kt northwest winds at 50N 173E aimed reasonably well down the 327 degree path to Hawaii and the 307 degree path to Central CA. 35 ft seas were modeled at 48N 172E. This system is to be gone in the evening with 29 ft seas from previous fetch fading at 48N 177E.
This system was a long ways away from either Hawaii (2109-2696 nmiles) or the US west coast (2858-3695 nmiles) and not large in areal coverage. Furthermore it was tracking northeast rather than east, not blowing for any length of time over the same stretch of water, not allowing a captured fetch (i.e. virtual fetch). The net result is less wind energy transfer to the oceans surface resulting in smaller seas over a smaller area. Furthermore, the fetch was aimed a bit south of the great circle tracks to the US West Coast, and instead favored the Hawaiian Islands. But it was a fairly intense system, with confirmed winds of 60 kts for nearly 48 hours and a few barbs to 70 kts. That is impressive. But the end result is likely to be a smaller swell than what most would expect. Still well rideable surf is possible for the Hawaiian Islands for the weekend with decent but inconsistent size for the US West Coast late in the weekend into the week beyond.
Hawaii: Expect swell to be building through the day Saturday as period drops from 19 secs with swell possibly reaching 6.0-6.9 ft @ 17 secs (10.8-12.4 ft faces) by 3 PM. This size estimate might be a little biased on the high side based on data coming off the buoys this morning. Swell to continue at sunrise Sunday (11/1) at with swell down to 6.0-6.5 ft @ 15-16 secs early (9-10 ft faces), holding through the day but trending more towards a pure 15 sec interval. 13-14 sec residuals expected Monday. Swell Direction: 310-317 degrees initially moving towards 320 degrees later in it's life.
North CA: Expect swell arrival starting Sunday (11/1) at 4 Am building to 2.8 ft @ 20 secs by 8 AM and possibly pushing 5.5-6.0 ft @ 18 secs by sunset (10-11 ft faces). This estimate might be a bit on the high side. Swell to continue overnight with period down to 16-17 secs sunrise Monday (11/2) with swell 5.5 ft @ 17 secs (9.0-9.5 ft faces) and slowly settling down through the day as period drops to 16 secs. Swell continuing to fade on Tuesday (11/3) with swell 5.0 ft @ 15 secs (7.5 ft faces) and heading down. 13 sec leftovers expected on Wed (11/4). Swell Direction: 302-303 degrees (shadowed for the SF Bay Area).
North Pacific Animations: Jetstream - Surface Pressure/Wind - Sea Height - Surf Height
California Nearshore Forecast
On Saturday (10/31) weak high pressure at 1026 mbs was centered 600 nmiles west of Central CA barely ridging northeast into Southern Oregon, resulting in only 15 kt north winds mostly off the coast from Central CA with little to no impact nearshore. A little more high pressure is to try and develop Sunday with 15-20 kt north winds forecast just off the Central and North CA coast, but reasonably calm nearshore early. These winds to move north and become isolated off Northern CA on Monday and Tuesday with a light wind flow elsewhere. Then Wednesday (11/4) afternoon reinforcing high pressure and north winds are forecast moving into Central CA, with north winds at 25 kts just off the coast Thursday becoming more condensed over Cape Mendocino Friday (11/8) building to 30 kts then dissipating Saturday (11/7).
Tropics
With the MJO moving into the Inactive Phase, net tropical activity is heading down.
No tropical systems of interest are being monitored.
South Pacific
Overview
At the surface on Saturday (10/31) no swell producing fetch was occurring. The models indicate maybe another weak gale is to push under New Zealand on Monday (11/2) generating 24 hrs of 30 ft seas at 55S 170E aimed a bit to the northeast. Maybe some potential for Hawaii if this develops as forecast.
New Zealand Gale
Previously a weak gale tracked east under New Zealand on Wed-Thurs (10/29) producing a modest sized fetch of 30-35 kt southwest winds aimed well to the northeast generating 27-28 ft sea sat 55S 175E Thurs AM. Limited background swell is possibly for the Hawaiian Islands starting Thursday (10/5) with swell to 1.6 ft @ 16 secs (2.5-3.0 ft faces), continuing into Friday at 2.3 ft @ 14-15 secs (3.5 ft faces) with residuals into Saturday (11/7) at 2.3 ft @ 14 secs (3.0-3.5 ft faces). Swell Direction: 195-200 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 there's some suggestion that a gale might be racing east into the Gulf of Alaska Thurs/Fri (11/6) driven by a fast moving jetstream. Up to 45 kt west-northwest winds are forecast targeting mainly British Columbia pushing seas to the 28 ft mark. Some size might reach the PAcific Northwest with limited swell filtering down into California next weekend if this occurs, but that is a pure guess at this early date. Beyond the high pressure system on the dateline is to break loose. stream east into the Gulf on Thursday and dissipate while pushing inland into Canada over next weekend. No immediate signs of gale activity to follow through.
MJO/ENSO Update (reference): As of Saturday (10/31) the Madden Julian Oscillation (MJO) continued in the Active Phase, but starting to loose momentum. The ENSO (El Nino Southern Oscillation) index remaining negative with the Daily SOI index at -11.48 (24 days in a row solidly negative and 35 consecutive days nearly negative/not positive). The 30 day average was falling to -15.23 and the 90 average was down to -5.21. Suspect this is near the end of this run. As of right now this continues looking more like what would be considered real a El Nino. This is the deepest the 30 day average has been since April of the 2006 El Nino event, and is good news.
Wind anomalies at the 850 mb level (approx 5000 ft up) as defined by models indicated light to moderate westerly anomalies over most of the entire equatorial Pacific from just northeast of New Guinea over the dateline and extending east into Central America. Mild to moderate eastern anomalies associated with the Inactive Phase of the MJO continue covering the Northern Indian Ocean and were starting to push east almost reaching the Philippines. The Active Phase is to continue in the Pacific tracking east through 11/9, with a neutral pattern setting up after that if not slightly biased towards easterly anomalies through 11/19. The Inactive phase has made it to the Philippines and is expected to maybe seep a bit east of there by 11/9, with pieces to the dateline on 11/19.
Sea Surface Temp anomaly data (10/29) indicates warm anomalies have built, extending the length of the equator from Ecuador to the dateline at 1 deg C higher than normal or more. This is a significant change from even a few days ago, with the much anticipated step up in temps occurring attributable to the kelvin Wave erupting along the Central America coast 2 weeks ago. This is suggestive of a moderate El Nino. The expanse of the warmer waters continues to build north of the equator, solidifying it's grip up the coast of Mexico and Baja (though still retreated from Southern and Northern CA - the result of a local north wind and high pressure), and extending west almost to Hawaii then southwest to the dateline. Effectively there is a broad wide triangle of warmer than normal water extending from just south of San Diego southwest just under Hawaii and on to the intersection of the equator and the dateline and even west of there now, then tracking southeast on to Northern Peru. This is not anything exceptional, but clearly a moderate El Nino. In reviewing surface water temp anomalies over the past decade and more, this is in no way similar to the monumental ENSO event of '97/98. But as previously stated, it still surpasses any event since then (over the last 12 years) in terms of water temps and areal coverage and is only building on that position.
Below the surface on the equator things continue to look excellent. A steady flow of warmer than normal subsurface water continues tracking from the West Pacific (150 m below the surface) under the dateline and breaking the surface near Central America as it has for months now. Surface water temperatures have jumped up off Central America as a result of the last Kelvin wave dispersed there, feeding the developing warm water pool and fueling El Nino. The latest imagery depicts the movement of warm surface waters to the west, and the expanse of those waters is increasing. So though the total temperature anomaly is not getting warmer off Central America, the expanse of those warm waters is increasing. A core of 2 deg warmer than normal water that first appeared under the dateline on 9/17 moved east to 175W by 9/22 and 172W on 9/24, then built to 3 degrees above normal (9/29) and continued growing as of 10/18 at 160W. Data on 10/20 depicted intensification with temps pushing solidly 4 degrees C above normal. And as of 10/22 that anomaly looked to be broaching the 5 degree mark and was holding if not expanding on 10/25. This is good. On 10/26 it was confirmed at 5 degrees above normal and racing east, much faster than previous Kelvin Waves and located at 145W , and then 135W on 10/29 and 125 on 10/31 with 4 degree anomalies extending the whole was back to the dateline. This is a very solid Kelvin Wave indeed, and large in areal coverage too extending 3600 nmiles miles long. This wave is associated with a persistent westerly surface wind flow that had been in.cgiace west of the dateline from 9/8. It is expected to reach the coast of Ecuador possibly late November or earlier. This should have a significant impact enhancing the existing warm pool when it hits Central America.
On 10/1 a solid patch of westward winds were depicted in-control of the West Pacific with strong west anomalies extending to almost the dateline. This had been in.cgiay since 9/27 and was associated with tropical systems Parma and Melor. This was good news. A full on Westerly Wind Burst was in effect. As of 10/3 fully blowing west winds were subsiding, though westerly anomalies continued reaching to the dateline. And by 10/6 just light west winds were in effect west of the dateline. But then again on 10/7 another group of fully blowing west winds were depicted extending all the way to the dateline, with decent force too. Anomalies were in full effect to the dateline and beyond to the east. On 10/11 light west winds were still in effect to the dateline with solid anomalies over the dateline and to a point south of Hawaii. And by 10/13 a light west flow was in effect with full west anomalies still in.cgiace to the dateline and east to about Hawaii fading some into 10/20 but still light west winds were west of the dateline and anomalies east of there. Then on 1021 another batch of fully blowing west winds were in.cgiay with solid anomalies to 160W (south of Hawaii) and almost to 140W, making further eastward progress than anything so far this El Nino event. By 10/24 that pattern continued if not intensified with fully blowing west winds to the dateline a solid anomalies to 140W and maybe even more. And on 10/26 the pattern continued, with anomalies pushing even further eastward to near 130W. And on 10/29 full blowing west winds and anomalies continued as documented above. This puts anomalies over almost the entire equatorial Pacific. Impressive. And on 10/31 the pattern continued with weak west winds in the west and anomolies all the way to 110W, basically covering the entire equatorial Pacific Ocean. This suggest a significant eastward propagation of warm water is in.cgiay and remains very good news for the development of El Nino. Again, this is classic El Nino symptoms. This is the first such event for this El Nino and if anything is on the upswing. For over a month now (since 9/8) a continuous moderate westerly anomaly has been in.cgiay from the west up to the dateline. These westerly anomalies started with Typhoon Dujuan and continued with Choi-Wan gently feeding the subsurface warm water flow. And then with Parma, Melor and Nepartak, that flow was enhanced. At this time all these anomalies appear to be consolidating the resulting warm waters into one strong Kelvin Wave, the one currently pushing east from the dateline (see above). This one is expected to reinforce if not deepen the warm anomalies on the surface over the equator.
At this time we are saying this developing El Nino is past the critical juncture and will survive in some fashion with effects continuing in the atmosphere until at least the Spring of next year. All data suggests this will not be a strong El Nino, more likely a weak to moderate one. NOAA's most recent update (10/8) forecasts the same outcome, though hints at a possible intensification (but not likely). A solid accumulation of warm water in the equatorial East Pacific is evidence in-favor of continued development. As long as there continues to be WWB's (as there obviously is), then warm water will be migrating east, and the warm water pattern will hold if not build, and the atmosphere above it will respond in-kind to the change (towards El Nino). At this point there is no evidence to suggest this El Nino will stall or dissipate. The only remaining question is whether it will hold, or grow. And current data indicates that the warm pool will hold if not slowly build. And historically it is already larger and strong than any other in the past 12 years.
The next milestone we're monitoring is development of this Active Phase of the MJO occurring now (10/3). The models indicate it is moderate in strength and should hold for a few weeks. Also water temps need to hold if not build (as is happening now). Our thoughts are that El Nino might gain a little more strength, but not much, with a 2 degree water temp anomaly in the tropical East Pacific the likely outcome. Coverage is pretty solid for this event, but the lack of really high water temp anomalies will likely limit it's strength. Strong El Ninos bring lot's of bad weather to the US West Coast, along with the potential for storm and swell enhancement. A moderate El Nino provides storm and swell enhancement, a gentle but steady push/momentum in-favor of storm development rather than the manic frenzy of a strong El Nino, but without all the weather associated with a strong event. So in many ways a moderate El Nino is more favorable from a surf perspective. As of right now things remain better than anything the Pacific has seen in the past 12 years regarding anomalous sea surface temperatures, besting anything since the big El Nino of 1997. That is very good news. But the lack of anomalous water temps exceeding 3 degrees and an unremarkable SOI suggests a modest El Nino at best. Still, it should be enough to provide storm enhancement, and a better than average winter surf season for the North Pacific, and still likely better than anything in the past 10 years. Better yet, if it's not too strong (as this event appears to be) perhaps it will not degrade into La Nina the year after (which typically happens after stronger El Ninos), but hold in some mild El Nino like state for several years in a row. This would be an even better outcome.
See more details in the new El Nino update.
South Pacific
Beyond 72 hours the models indicate no swell producing fetch of interest 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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Then open your Google homepage, hit 'edit' button (top right near graph), and select your location
Local Interest
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
Mavericks - Everest of the Sea & Longboard Vineyards: Come late October Sonoma County will not only welcome a new crop of world class wines, but the award winning photography of some of Action Sports best lensmen. “ Mavericks – Everest of the Seas” comes alive again just in time to set the stage for another epic Big Wave Season. Mix two of Northern California's finest institutions – big wave surfing and the wine country – and you have what promises to be an amazing weekend at the Longboard Vineyards Tasting Room in Healdsburg
October 23 – 25.
Relive heroic battles between man and wave as seen through the eyes of the cutting-edge photojournalists who risk life and limb to document the wave's intense man-against-the-sea drama and obsessive lifestyle of Maverick's elite riders. Oded Shakked, a longtime surfer who founded Longboard Vineyards, will be unveiling his latest release, The Peter Mel/Mavericks Cabernet Sauvignon. This signature wine will be blended by not only Shakked but guest vintner, Peter Mel. Mel, one of the most respected names in Big Wave Surfing is known as perhaps the most skillful surfer ever to ride Mavericks. The famed spot off the Half Moon Bay. In October of 1998 he was whipped into to what is now considered the biggest wave ever ridden… Mel along with the featured photographers, surfboard shapers and wine makers will be on hand for the Friday night reception. The reception will begin at 5pm and run until roughly 9pm.
Longboard Vineyard has always had a soft spot for surfers. It's a.cgiace where you can hangout at a redwood-surfboard bar, or sa.cgie one
of its award winning wines while kicking back on a comfortable sofa watching surf movies. For this harvest weekend event Shakked has
enlisted “Mavericks: Everest of the Seas,” the heralded collection of Mavericks surf photography from Frank Quirarte, Doug Acton, Seth
Migdail and Ed Grant.
“Everest of the Seas” first made its debut recently at the Coastal Arts League Gallery in Half Moon Bay, drawing large crowds and an
enthusiastic response. It just finished a one-month highly successful run at San Francisco's world class Museum and Gallery, SFMOMA.“Everyone who sees the exhibit is just blown away,” said Grant, the curator of the Coastal Arts League Gallery. “Both surfers and non-surfers can't help but get caught up in the energy and stoke that surrounds Maverick's, the surfers and photographers who put it on the
line every time they go out there.”
The event also represents a high point in the career of Oded Shakked, who was born in Israel and grew up near a beach just north of Tel
Aviv. Immersed in surfing from the start, he made several trips around Europe's Atlantic coast while discovering, to his delight, that “it
was easier, cheaper and safer to drink good red wine than bottled water.” His twin loves of surfing and wine brought him to California,
where he studied winemaking at UC Davis and became enamored with the pe.cgie, climate and rich soil of Sonoma County. He founded Longboard Vineyards with the motto “Wine, waves and soul,” making it a highly unique fixture in wine country.
The October 23-25 weekend will also feature the sale of surfboards and memorabilia, along with Acton's acclaimed book, “Inside Maverick's.”
Admission is free. Opening reception sponsored by Maverick Events and Longboard Vineyards
The Kelly Slater Project - A fundraiser is scheduled for Aug 29th at the Cocoa Beach Country Club to help raise funds for both the Kelly Slater Project and the Central Florida Animal Reserve. A Casino night is.cgianned including a silent auction and raffle. Sponsors are also needed. Learn more about these projects at : http://www.thekellyslaterproject.com/
Rebuild Jeff Clark: Jeff Clark the first pioneer of Mavericks, recently underwent hip resurfacing surgery due to severe pain from deterioration of his hip. Needless to say the procedure is very expensive and his insurance only covers tiny portion of the bill. If you're interested in learning about the procedure or would like to donate to help Jeff out,.cgiease take a look here: http://www.rebuildjeffclark.blogspot.com/
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!
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Surf Height-Swell Height Correlation Table
