Multiple Swells This Week | Southern California Weekly Forecast

Overview

5/27/22 – 6/2/22: A fun week of waves is in store this week as multiple Southern Hemisphere swells are in route to SoCal. The first south swell of this run will top out the first day of the forecast, Friday the 27th. South swell magnets should get into the head high range or so on this one. Then over the weekend this swell will slowly taper off before a new south swell builds underneath it on Sunday the 29th, and peaks Memorial Day the 30th. This swell should be a few feet bigger for more spots than the previous swell due to a bit more west in it (~210°). Fun size and rideable surf will linger all through the workweek, before another pulse of south swell fills in the last day of the forecast. There won’t be a ton of NW energy out there, but there should be enough localized NW windswell to break up the dominant southerly energy later in the week and early into the workweek. Select windswell magnets will be an exception, and could be fun on only the NW energy.

We have a pretty typical May pattern as of late. Some days the marine layer hasn’t burned off at all for the immediate coast, and has been staying cloudy all day. Expect these conditions to continue most days in the coming week. We should see a few afternoons with the sun poking through, probably a better chance of that happening later in the week. The winds most mornings are looking like they’ll be pretty light. Only a light onshore southerly wind on it for some mornings, but manageable, and some afternoons staying on the lighter side too. Water temps are still gradually rising, now in the low to mid 60s for most areas, due to no immediate coastal upwelling and mild temps through the past week.

Best Bets

Target Friday morning the 27th. Peaking south swell and light winds early in the day.
Memorial Day Weekend will see continued surf as a new south swell shows, with slightly more southerly wind expected over the mornings.
Tuesday morning the 31st should be a fun morning with holding south swell and light winds early.
Still plenty of waves to track down every day of the week!

Day to Day Breakdown

Friday the 27th: 3-5 feet

One of the bigger days of the forecast, as well as one of the cleaner mornings. Our first southern hemisphere swell of the week will hold all day. This is the only substantial swell in the water, so most breaks are going to be pretty lined up. Target a point/structure that receives a southerly angled swell.

Saturday the 28th: 3-4+ feet

A slow easing trend is expected, as our primary south swell slowly loses steam. Still not much NW swell in the water though, so it will be another day to target those southerly exposures with a structure. The morning wind is looking slightly less favorable, with a very light onshore wind expected early. The afternoon isn’t looking too bad, with just a light to moderate south westerly breeze forecasted.

Sunday the 29th: 2-4 feet

The temporary easing trend continues through the morning, before bouncing back later in the day as our next southern hemisphere swell shows. So the swells in the water this day are expected to be leftovers of old the south swell, a new more westerly angled south swell, and a slight increase

in localized NW windswell. There will definitely be some waves to work with, but the morning conditions are expected to be south/south easterly right out of the gates. That being said, there should be some manageable windows through the day.

Monday the 30th: 3-5+ feet

Memorial Day will be one of the biggest days of the forecast. The primary swell in the water doing the heavy lifting will be the new southern hemisphere swell building to a peak. As noted before, this swell will have a bit more west in it compared to the average south swell. This will help more westerly facing beaches receive better size. There will also be a slight bump in NW windswell. Unfortunately, conditions do look a bit unfavorable. Right now the forecast is looking like south wind on it early, veering more west in the afternoon.

Tuesday the 31st: 3-5 feet

This day is looking like a better day to target. The Memorial Day swell is expected to hold pretty good size most of the day, probably showing a tad better size/consistency over the morning hours. The morning should be nice and clean, so that is the window to target. There might be a bit of leftover NW windswell leftover from Monday, but not much.

Wednesday the 1st: 3-4+ feet

A smaller day in store, but still a fun day of surf expected. The Memorial Day swell will still be the primary swell in the water as it eases all day. Again, not much NW energy expected out there. As of right now the conditions are looking pretty light for the morning, that would be the window to capitalize on.

Thursday the 2nd: 3-4+ feet

Another day of waves, thanks to another fresh southern hemisphere swell expected to build in. The morning will most likely be smaller than the afternoon, as more swell shows during that time. Overall though, another swell to look forward to in the week, should be plenty of opportunity. Local wind may trend unfavorably, but looking mostly light as of now.

Long Range Forecast

This is going to be a good week to get some fun waves for the south facing summer breaks. To start off next week’s forecast, the last southern hemisphere swell of this run will keep things pretty fun. After the weekend on Saturday the 4th, things do look to slow down a bit. The South Pacific is expected to take a little breather after this run of swell. We’ll probably see more swell for the second half of June though, it is typically a pretty favorable month in terms of southern hemisphere swell generation.