I Smell a Combo Swell in Oceanside this Weekend

NW: Next up is a punchy little WNW swell (275-290) that will arrive fully by Friday (with the more northern breaks starting to pick up a few waves by Thursday late afternoon/evening). While it doesn’t look like a huge swell, it will be fairly west and so will show in many areas with waist-shoulder-head high surf. Good spots in Ventura, the South Bay, select parts of Orange County and most of San Diego hit a foot+ overhead and occasionally larger sets. Those waves then fade on Saturday. Fortunately, a similar size swell is right on its heels, showing best on Sunday morning, but with a rise in size (especially at the more northern breaks) over the afternoon on Saturday. This will be more of a NW swell (285-300) so will be better focused in Ventura, San Diego and select spots in both the South Bay and OC. Those areas see chest-shoulder-head high surf by Sunday morning.

SW: Recent storm activity near New Zealand has a small SW swell (200-215) on tap for Saturday the 17th, with knee to very occasional waist high waves (at best) at the good breaks in South Orange County. A better SW swell (210-220) will build in and looks best later in the afternoon of Sunday the 18th through Tuesday morning the 20th. This swell will be heavily shadowed by Tahiti and French Polynesia so will be inconsistent as it arrives on our shores. Look for the best waves in South OC and San Diego, where waist high surf will be found. Standouts, mainly in South OC hit occasional sets to shoulder high. With the WNW swell also expected to be in the water, the beachbreaks and Our next forecast update here will be Thursday evening at 6 PM.