A Swell Way to Build Up an Appetite

Surf forecast for late November 2014

Your National Weather Service Marine Weather forecast calls for: “HIGH PRESSURE WILL EXTEND ACROSS THE AREA THROUGH THE WEEKEND. THE HIGH WILL THEN MOVE OFF THE EAST COAST SATURDAY AHEAD OF A WARM FRONT THAT SHIFTS OVER THE REGION SUNDAY. A COLD FRONT WILL SHIFT THROUGH THE AREA LATE MONDAY...FOLLOWED BY HIGH PRESSURE INTO THE MIDDLE OF NEXT WEEK.”

After a strong cold front plunged into the Southeast over the middle part of the workweek, we see flat surf to end the week on Friday, November 21. Big changes are in store for your weekend, as strong southeast flow is expected starting Saturday and extending into Sunday this week. High pressure moves off to our northeast and a warm front (south winds) moves over our area for Sunday. This unsettled weather pattern brings northeast winds on Saturday, when swell starts out small and high angled, but should build some throughout the day into the waist-high (plus) range late afternoon on the incoming tide. Sunday sees southeast winds increasing and waves along with it. We see chest- to shoulder-high wind swell/ground swell comb fill in with moderate, increasing onshore flow. It will be lumpy and choppy, but there will be plenty of swell in the water Sunday (November 23) into Monday (November 24), as a cold front approaches and winds switch to southwest. After the cold front Monday night, we are calling for continued onshore flow and leftover swell in the waist- to stomach-high range as surf drops and cleans up. Swell for middle of next week depends on the position of the high and what swell might be leftover. With strong offshore winds predicted on Wednesday behind the cold front, it seems the surf might fade out for mid-week (Wednesday, November 26) into Thanksgiving (November 27).  We’ll keep you updated. Meanwhile, stay warm and get some work done. Keep in mind, with the recent cold snap, water temp has dropped to around 58 degrees. With the southerly flow Sunday and Monday, I expect the water to bump up to 60 or 61 degrees. Get some.