Small Wave Gear | Socal Weekly Forecast

Overview 

 

12/3/21-12/9/21 – Signs of a pattern change are on the way to SoCal as we start the month of December, but unfortunately not much swell is going to come along with it. We’re finally going to see the jet stream dip down more south, but a lot of these forecasted storms are more “inside slider” type systems. This means high pressure will still be in control over much of the northeast pacific, and these storm systems will only deliver localized windswell to the region. The one windswell of the week will peak on Tuesday the 7th, but will still be pretty small. Similar sized surf will show the first two days of the forecast as a minor mix of swells shows, but these days will still be very slow, especially with the king high tides over the weekend. 

 

Not too eventful of a week coming up for our local weather, but we will see a few moderate temperature swings. Through the weekend we’ll continue to see patchy fog most mornings, with the chances of it sticking around all day. Things will warm up slightly for Sunday and Monday, until a trough digs in Tuesday bringing the slight chance of showers. Winds most mornings will be light, with a few days possibly seeing a slight texture. The king high tides through the weekend and lingering into the workweek will be a big factor, so make sure to account for that. 

 

Best Bets 

 

– A good week for beginners due to small waves all week. 

– Target the first 2 days of the forecast for leftover swell, but watch the king tides.

– Tuesday could be fun as a small bump in NW windswell is expected. 

 

Day to Day Breakdown 

 

Friday the 3rd: 2-3 feet 

Small swell mix in the water, with the NW energy showing a tad better than any leftover south swell left in the water. The morning will be pretty swamped out due to the ~6.9 foot high tide at 7:30am. Might want to wait until that tide drops, even though there will be a light west wind in the afternoon. Fog is possible.

 

Saturday the 4th: 1-3 feet 

Slightly smaller than Friday, with an even higher tide to go along with it. The high tide will be about 7 feet at 8:10am. This will be the highest tide of the year. Since there won’t be much surf, it will be a good opportunity to check out your local spot and get a feel of how it could look in the future as our sea level continues to rise. 

 

Sunday the 5th: 1-2 feet 

A very small day of surf as leftover NW energy shows. Only minimal energy makes it into most spots. There will be another very high tide in the morning as well. 

 

Monday the 6th: 1-2 feet 

Pretty much a repeat of Sunday in terms of size. There will still be a tad of NW energy showing, but it will be minimal. A good day to skip a surf, or for beginners. 

 

Tuesday the 7th: 2-3 feet 

There will be a slight bump in localized NW windswell, but right now it’s not looking like much. The winds may trend favorable for the morning, so that could be the best window of the day. That high tide late morning will slow things down some, but there should still be a few corners.

 

Wednesday the 8th: 1-2 feet 

That windswell from Tuesday is expected to drop off pretty quickly. So another day of very small surf is expected. Winds should be calm for the morning. Take out a bigger board if still looking for a surf. 

 

Thursday the 9th:1-2 feet 

Another day of small surf. We may see a little upstick of NW windswell later in the day, but that isn’t looking like much as of right now.

 

Long Range Forecast 

 

That pattern change that’s been forecasted is finally expected these next few weeks. It’s better news in terms of cooler weather and precipitation for our state, but not really wave wise. What we really want in the winter are those longer period groundswells that are more lined up with cleaner conditions, but the majority of swell in the coming weeks looks to come from more localized sources. I definitely wouldn’t rule out the possibility of seeing better groundswell from the NPAC for the back half of Decmeber though. I wish I had better news in terms of waves this month, but at least we’ll get more unsettled weather as we enter the holiday season.

 

 

– Jax Richards @jax6street

 


If you’d like to receive these day by day forecasts every week, sign up for our newsletter

* indicates required



/

( mm / dd )


Related Posts

Welcome Fall | Socal Weekly Forecast | 9.23

Overview   Fall is officially here. September to December is undoubtedly the best...

Clear Skies Ahead – Less Rain in the Forecast For SoCal

3.24.23 – 3.26.23: As mentioned in the previous forecast, high-pressure is beginning to...