Resurgence of El Niño?

When was the last time that we had 71 degree water in Santa Barbara?  That would be the Summer of 1997 - exactly 10 years ago - the year of the last big "El Niño" warm-water event...  The month of June has seen sea temperatures skyrocket, from a low of 53 degrees on June 7th, to a high 71 which was measured just today, marking a remarkable 18 degree jump in only 3 weeks...  As I've been reporting, the SST Anomoly Charts are showing some very peculiar patterns for the Eastern Pacific Region, and now the effects are being felt locally. 



Classic Summer Windswell Found In Town This Weekend

We all know that Summer in Santa Barbara pretty much always means a trip up North to Jalama or down South to at least Ventura to get wet and find rideable waves.  The past 2 days have been exceptional, bringing high-quality A-frames to local beach and reefbreaks.  As early as Friday afternoon reports were coming in that gale-force winds in the West Santa Barbara Channel were generating quality surf along the coast.  A trip to the Mesa area (1,000 Steps) early Saturday confirmed what I was hearing, so I headed over to one of my favorite all-time S.B. spots.  Not really a secret, but more exclusive or private, this unnamed beach break was working all right; some of the best-looking Summer waves I've seen there in a long, long time.  The 70's were the heyday of this area, before substantial sand loss damaged the topography.  Following our mild Winter the offshore kelp beds have grown back thick, and this seems to be helping keep the sand in place, as well as cutting down on the wind chop. 

Not so much size (wait- to chest-high), obviously, but the quality of the surf that was enhanced with solid offshore breezes, and a very light crowd made the Saturday evening glass-off session one of the most memorable in months.  Below are selected images from this session.

As soon as I got there I could see this was going to be fun...



Mid-Summer in Santa Barbara?









Veteran waterman Laird Riffle showing no signs of slowing down.  Laird, who's physical stature would actually eclipse that of the "other Laird", was the lifeguard back when I was a kid surfing this area in the early-mid 1970's...






Surf Forecast for the Coming Week

Good news, surfers, more solid windswell is being forecast for the coming week, peaking late in the week.  With the 70 degree water temps, and warm air, get out there and catch a few!