Decent Mix Of Wind And Ground Swell This Week - Southern California

MONDAY

Monday morning starts off quiet with lingering wind swell from the weekend. Any rain on Sunday should be done by this point and with light winds, this could be a decent surf opportunity. Waves, however, don't appear to be too impressive with the largest occurring near San Diego at around 3 feet in size. Other west facing shorelines are looking at just 2-foot waves with south-facing shorelines experiencing 1-footers.

Waves gradually decline through the morning and into the afternoon. Periods stay short throughout the day with west-facing beaches generally experiencing less than 10-seconds. Winds on Monday start off calm or light from the offshore direction but turn onshore around 3 pm and strengthen through the rest of the evening. For this reason, the morning looks like a much better time to surf.

TUESDAY

Both the northwest wind swell, and the southwest ground swell appear to move in by the time the sun comes up on Tuesday. San Diego will still likely see the biggest waves across the region at around 3-4 feet but there should be decent, 2–3-foot waves, along the entire shoreline south of Huntington Beach for Tuesday morning. The south and west-facing shorelines surrounding Oxnard and Ventura also look like they'll get in on 3-foot waves.

Waves grow through the day, especially from the southwest ground swell. More and more of the southwest facing shoreline, from Huntington Beach to Oceanside, will see 3-foot waves as opposed to just 2. Waves should stay under 5-feet for San Diego through Tuesday with southwest facing beaches experiencing most of the wave growth. Our southwest facing shorelines also appear to have much better periods at around 16 seconds as opposed to roughly 10 seconds for San Diego and the west-facing shore of Ventura County.

WEDNESDAY

As mentioned, both swells peak on Wednesday at about mid-morning. During the peak and the hours surrounding, we should have 4-5-foot waves near San Diego, 4-foot waves along the west-facing shore of Ventura County, and 3–4-foot waves for everyone south of Huntington Beach. Periods look best along the southwest facing-shorelines, similar to Tuesday at about 16-seconds. West faces should see close to 10 seconds. Morning winds look ideal which means this will end up being a great surf opportunity!

Waves slowly drop through the afternoon although there shouldn't be too much of a decline. We'll likely still have 5-footers around San Diego and much of the shorelines is looking at 3+ foot waves for Wednesday evening. Periods may slightly improve along west-facing shorelines with southwest facing beaches still seeing the cleanest waves. Wednesday evening looks quite windy at the moment so if you can, I would surf the morning!

THURSDAY

Waves continue to fade overnight Wednesday and by Thursday morning, we should be looking at 3-foot and under waves for most. San Diego is the exception to this where 4-foot swells could still be in place for the morning although this probably won't last. Periods look better for San Diego and Ventura at around 13 seconds. Winds, too should remain light for the morning and ideal for surfing.

The swell drops at an accelerating rate through the day Thursday with most spots returning to just 2-foot waves by the evening. The best spot to surf still appears to be anywhere south of Huntington Beach where 3-foot waves are more probable. Waves look relatively clean at around 12 seconds but winds could be strong from the onshore direction during the afternoon and evening.