4.24.23 – We finally have some promising surf in the forecast for this week. We’ll start off Monday with weak northwest wind swell which will linger from the weekend. Winds nearshore shouldn’t be too bad but further offshore we could see winds over 30 mph on Monday. This will kick up a weak swell with 2-3 ft waves max on Monday.
On Tuesday, NW ground swell from a system in further out in the Pacific will replace the wind swell. On top of this, another system near Antarctica will send us some SW ground swell set to arrive on Tuesday. San Diego should have the largest waves around 4 ft while other west faces stay close to three feet.
The NW/SW combo swell continues on Wednesday although the NW component starts to die down. Because of this, waves drop in size through the day on Wednesday. The good news is that the southern hemi swell maintains its strength and even strengthens some.
For Thursday we’re looking at almost no NW swell and a dominating SW swell continuing from Wednesday. Waves die down in size but we’re still expecting a nice surf day. 3 ft waves are possible from Long Beach all the way down to the Mexican Border. Periods now look like they will stay between 13 and 18 seconds and winds stay light until late in the evening. All around a beautiful surfing day is anticipated.
See the 10-Day forecasts for LA, OC and San Diego
Best Bets
- Wednesday morning should have the largest waves with 4+ ft near San Diego. Winds should stay calm to light and variable.
- Wednesday afternoon looks just as nice although waves heights fall about 6 inches. Highs make into the mid-70s!
- Tuesday afternoon ties with Wednesday afternoon as waves are about the same size and highs reach near 70 with light winds!
MONDAY
The week will start out pretty quiet with lingering northwest wind swell left over from the weekend. The smallest waves occur in the morning with 3 ft heights possible near San Diego and other west faces seeing two feet. Through the day waves slightly increase in size. A cooler day is in the forecast with highs in the 60s area wide.
Although this is a wind swell, winds nearshore won’t be too bad. A light onshore breeze is expected through the day with speeds ranging between 5 and 10 mph. The strongest winds occur around the mid-afternoon hours. Despite weak winds, periods look incredibly short with 7-10 seconds in most locations. It is possible that isolated spots see significantly longer periods.
TUESDAY
Finally, the southwest groundswell originating from the Southern Ocean will make its way into our area. Along with this, a northwest ground swell also moves in from another system near Alaska. The combination of these two swells will yield growing wave heights through the day. 4 ft waves near San Diego are anticipated by the evening.
Most west facing beaches will start the morning off with 2 ft waves but then finish the day with 3 ft waves. In general, periods stay long with 13 second averages and winds stay light and variable similar to Monday. Highs also warm up about 3-5 degrees compared to Monday making for a comfortable day under sunny skies.
WEDNESDAY
The northwest groundswell begins to die off by the afternoon hours leaving the morning with the biggest waves for this entire week. Most west facing beaches are looking at a 2-3 ft high ground swell with San Diego looking at 4+ ft. Waves will slowly but gradually die down from the morning onwards. Periods may become a little shorter as the combo of NW and SW ground swells create some chaos on the water.
Winds stay light and variable with speeds under 5 mph through the evening. Winds might pick up slightly overnight but during the daylight hours you should be good to go. Highs continue to warm up with Los Angeles expected to hit the mid-70s with highs near 70 elsewhere.
THURSDAY
The northwest ground swell will have almost completely backed off by Thursday leaving the Southern Hemi swell to dominate. The largest waves should be from Orange County southward where 3 ft heights are expected. To the north, waves sizes will be closer to two feet.
All around this looks like a pretty nice surf day with decent sized waves. Periods range from 13 seconds and up with winds staying calm to light and variable all day long. High temps will be similar to Wednesday, possibly even a few degrees warmer with mostly sunny skies.
