Overview
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Another week of consistent solid surf on the way, this time even larger than last week. The only downside is that the conditions don’t look great for the majority of the forecast. We’ll have 2 main pulses of Southern Hemi with the first peaking midweek and the second larger swell peaking over the weekend. The weekend swell will rival the swell we saw on April 24th for the largest south swell of the year. We’ll also see some decent sized NW windswell pulse up for the second half of the workweek lingering into the start of the weekend.
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The May Gray pattern will continue this week, with light onshore winds and marine layer clouds throughout the region. Pretty typical for this time of year, thanks to the persistent cool sea surface temperatures off the West Coast along with the troughing pattern we’ve been in as of late. Although the gloomy weather and onshores aren’t ideal, there will still be a few fun windows of surf for the next south swells in route to SoCal.
Best Bets
-Keep on eye on the winds, and try to find somewhere wind protected.
-The conditions over the weekend look slightly better than the workweek as the solid south swell peaks.
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Daily Breakdown
Tuesday the 18th: 3-5 feet for south facing breaks
The smallest day of surf all week, yet still fun sized with overlapping swells from the south. As last weekend’s south swell lingers, a new fresh south swell will begin to fill in later in the day. Winds will be light onshore in the morning, but manageable for most spots. The morning low tide may be a bit drained.
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Wednesday the 19th: 4-6 feet for south facing breaks
The new south swell will build to a peak and hold steady all day. There will also be some new NW windswell mixing in. Winds will be light onshore again in the morning, but some select spots will be manageable. Watch the midmorning low tide.
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Thursday the 20th: 3-5+ feet
South swell hangs in there still showing fun size, as a bigger pulse of NW windswell shows. Which would be a decent day for the combo breaks, a stronger south wind is due in the morning which will ruin the day of clean surf for almost all of SoCal. Find a spot that can handle the SE wind.
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Friday the 21st: 4-6 feet (largest late)
The solid weekend swell will quickly become the dominant swell as it builds throughout the day. We’ll also see even more NW windswell, so there will definitely be lots of corners and waves for the west facing breaks that don’t get the south swell. Unfortunately the winds look pretty onshore all day, so it will be a challenge to find clean surf.
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Saturday the 22nd: 5-7+ feet (select south facing breaks will go larger)
The solid south swell peaks and holds steady throughout the day. NW windswell will be down a notch or two, but still showing rideable surf. Waves will be biggest for south facing breaks, where it will be locally solid such as spots in Orange County. The winds may trend lighter, but they still look mostly onshore across the region.
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Sunday the 23rd: 4-7 feet (largest early)
The solid south swell will be on its slow easing trend, but still showing similar size surf as Saturday, especially in the morning. Not much NW windswell left in the water, so it will be very walled at the beach breaks. The winds look better than Saturday, but still lightly onshore for most areas. Very manageable and cleaner than any other day in the week.
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Monday the 24th: 3-5+ feet (largest early)
The solid south swell continues its slow easing trend. Surf drops a notch or two from the weekend, but there will still be some good energy in the water. Winds look better than the last couple of days, but still not ideal.
– Jax Richards @jax6street