High pressure = sunny skies + small surf.
SURF:
Now that we’ve all come back down to earth after an epic month of surf, we can finally fix those dings, give our boards a new wax job, patch that fullsuit, and rest our arms. The weather the past few days has been great- but the surf- not so much. We did start to see a slow rise in the WNW today and that will peak for chest high waves tomorrow through Saturday. Sunday drops slightly to the waist high+ range. All in all a small clean weekend of surf. Water temps are still high 50’s and tides this weekend are back to normal too: 1′ at dawn, up to 4′ mid-afternoon and down slightly to 2′ at sunset. For a more detailed THE Surf Report, check out http://northcountysurf.blogspot.com/.
FORECAST:
It’s funny how the ocean works. You get a couple weeks of rain and big surf and then it takes a breather to rejuvenate itself. That’s what we’re in the middle of right now. High pressure has set up shop and as it does, it’s stunting the growth of storms in the eastern Pacific which leaves us high and dry. Models show a small waist high+ WNW towards the 31st and maybe something better around early February but until then- it’s slim pickings. Time to put that step up back in the rafters. Of note is that the forecast charts show the South Pacific trying to get it’s act together- about 4 months early- and we MAY get a small SW swell around the 7th of February. But don’t hold your breath. Unless you’re duck diving of course.
WEATHER:
Did I mention high pressure decided to set up shop recently? I did? How about sunny skies are forecasted for the near future with no rain in sight? I did too? Sorry about that- I guess then you’ve already heard the weather forecast for the next 10 days. Oh- and we may have offshores on Saturday (with temps near 80 at the beaches) and a return of fog in the AM/late nights towards Monday. Other than that- no rain or until at least the end of the month. Pretty nice around here. Make sure to keep track of the waves and weather at http://twitter.com/NorthCountySurf.
BEST BET:
Tomorrow and Saturday with small but fun WNW swell and nice conditions.
NEWS OF THE WEEK:
The Pacific Ocean has more good surf than you can shake a stick at. From New Zealand to Peru to Central America to California to Japan and all the islands smack dab in the middle. But there’s more to the Pacific than lines to the horizon. Here’s some facts to amaze your friends with:
• Pacific means “peaceful”, coming from the Latin “pace” for peace
• The Pacific Ocean got its name from the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan in 1521 who called its waters “mar pacifico” which means peaceful sea.
• The Pacific is the biggest ocean on earth and covers more than 30% of the earth’s surface.
• With a surface of 65,436,200 square miles, it provides almost half of the Earth’s water area.
• The size of the Pacific Ocean is bigger than the total size of the landmass of all the continents together.
• The average depth is about 12,467 ft.
• The Challenger Deep in the Marina Trench (named after the research vessel HMS Challenger in 1875), which is located to the west of the Philippines and north of New Guinea, is the deepest point in the Pacific Ocean at 35,827 feet. It is the lowest part of the earth crust and was formed by the collision of two tectonic plates.
• Most of the volcanoes (actually 75%) on earth are located in the Pacific Ocean basin. The volcanoes form a ring around the basin and therefore is called the ‘Ring of Fire’. Many earthquakes happen in this area due to volcanic activity and then ocean plate moves under the tectonic plates of the continents as well.
• The temperatures of the Pacific Ocean depend on the location. The nearer to the Equator the warmer the water tends to be. So some regions the water is up to 86 degrees (which makes the 80 degree temps off San Diego’s coast this summer even that more remarkable), while closer to the poles the water temperature decreases to the freezing point. The lowest temperature ever measured was 28 degrees.
• Most of the islands in the world are found in the Pacific Ocean. There are actually more than 25,000 islands in the Pacific and most of them are found south of the Equator in the Southern Pacific. Japan alone consists of around 3,000 islands.
So the next time you’re sitting in the line-up, waiting for that next set, just take a look around and marvel at that big blue ocean you’re floating in.
PIC OF THE WEEK:
This place has everything to entertain me and my better half: New School ripping for me and Old World charm for her.
Keep Surfing,
Michael W. Glenn
Birthday Boy
49 Is The New 29
Men’s WSL World Masters Quarterfinalist 2015
