Another Fun Week of Waves | Socal Weekly Forecast

Overview 

 

1/21/22-1/27/22: Although not quite as good as the past few weeks, we have yet another fun week of waves on the way to SoCal. The weekend will be on the smaller side as a fresh WNW peaks Saturday the 22nd. Early to midweek another WNW will move in, coming in a few notches bigger than the weekend. Size will show the biggest Monday evening the 24th and all day Tuesday the 25th. This swell will have a good amount of west in it (~280°), but will be a bit selective for some spots due to the long period (15-16s). After this run of WNW swell, the forecast is looking to slow down in terms of groundswells in the North Pacific. 

 

January continues to be bone dry as we look to finish one of our wettest months without any precipitation (some select areas did see a few hundredths of an inch last week). The biggest story of this week will be the gusty Santa Ana wind event in the forecast for late Friday the 21st and into Saturday the 22nd. Areas Saturday could see offshore flow all day. Most of the week we 

 

will see pretty fair weather and light winds each morning. Some of the afternoons aren’t looking too bad either. Looking ahead into the coming weeks, there are no encouraging signs of precipitation for the region. Luckily, February is looking better overall compared to what we’re seeing this month. 

 

Best Bets 

 

– Saturday the 22nd as small WNW peaks and gusty Santa Ana offshore winds are expected.

– Monday the 24th to Wednesday the 26th as a bigger WNW swell peaks. 

– Most mornings will start off clean, with a few afternoons remaining light. 

Image courtesy @jamesferrell_

Day to Day Breakdown 

 

Friday the 21st: 2-3 feet 

One of the smaller days in the forecast, but should be a nice day. Just leftover WNW in the water, but the new weekend WNW may bump up size a tad for some of the winter breaks towards the end of the day. Pretty light wind all day across the region. Gusty Santa Ana wind will most likely pick up after dark, peaking in intensity overnight.

 

Saturday the 22nd: 2-4 feet 

Could be a fun morning as new WNW peaks and offshore flow continues through most of the day. Areas around Ventura and Orange County could see gusts over 40mph. The morning tide push is looking like the best call, but the afternoon tide drop could be worth a look too. 

 

Sunday the 23rd: 2-3 feet 

Surf trends down a bit as the weekend WNW swell eases. Offshore flow lightens up and will be nice and clean for the morning tide push. A light west wind is forecasted for the afternoon and may put a bit of texture on it. 

 

Monday the 24th: 3-4+ feet (largest late) 

The start of a new swell. Long period WNW will build all day showing best size late. Note, the morning will be on the slower side as long period forerunners show first. The morning conditions are looking mostly clean, with the chance of seeing a touch of south wind on it. The afternoon will see a light south wind as well, with a possible cleanup for an evening session. 

 

Tuesday the 25th: 3-5+ feet 

Long period WNW peaks and holds fairly steady most of the day. Note that some areas that aren’t west facing and can’t handle the longer period will be smaller than the numbers shown above. Good day to target a winter break that receives a selective WNW swell. The morning should see light winds, followed by a pretty light afternoon too. Lots of opportunities throughout the day. 

 

Wednesday the 26th: 3-4+ feet 

WNW levels off but maintains fun size through the day. Size should hold relatively steady, as the main WNW swell gets a little reinforcement. Morning winds are looking favorable right now, so it’s looking like another fun day to target. 

 

Thursday the 27th: 2-4 feet 

Size drops off some, but there will still be enough WNW swell in the water to get a few waves. The morning tide drop should be the best window. As of right, it’s looking like another day of favorable weather and morning wind.

 

Long Range Forecast 

 

After these past few weeks of fun WNW swells, swell production in the NPAC looks to slow down some as we head into February. There still looks to be rideable surf in the coming weeks, but compared to what we saw in January it’s looking smaller overall. As we head closer to February, we may finally see more unsettled weather return to the state. Some longer range models are indicating a pattern change, but it’s too early to talk specifics. California needs a lot more rain and mountain snow to get out of the current drought, especially after this bone dry January.

 

– Jax Richards @jax6street

 


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