The sets keep rolling in

WEATHER TIDBITS

Attention Tidbit readers. Health warning: Do not look at

Tidbitter’s mug shot next to his column if you are squeamish or while

eating a meal.

Sorry, readers, for tarnishing what was once a semi-respectable

weekly effort.

By the time you read this, yet another macking south swell will be

in the history books. Hurricane Hernan was born in the waters off

Manzanillo a week ago today and began to trek swiftly to the west,

northwest at 20 mph.

By Sunday at 3 a.m., he stormed into our surf window, a full-blown

category five with sustained winds of 161 mph and occasional gusts up

to 188 mph, making him the third strongest Eastern Pacific hurricane

of all time. Only Guillermo in August 1997 and Linda in September

1997 top him. Hernan had gale force winds 300 miles out from his core

or “eye.”

This column is actually being written on Tuesday. The first

“scouts” of Hernan’s waves are just beginning to feather, but I know

what’s going to transpire on Wednesday and Thursday.

A new area of disturbed weather is about to attain storm status,

off Southern Mexico, so the Chubasco machine is well-oiled and tuned

and of course it coincides with the beginning of the new school year.

I’m not trying to be a bad role model (but I am, believe me), but

if you don’t get around to starting school until like next week, I

don’t blame you. There are priorities. I used to belong to the “Not

When The Surf’s Up” student union.

Remember Hurricane Linda on Mon., Sept. 15, 1997? Of course, it

was the first “full day” of school. The truancy rate was very high

that day. Only seven bookworms were seen in the library that day. How

smart can they be?

Hernan update, 3:45 p.m. Tuesday: 3-to 5-foot sets are marching

precision like at a ridiculous (south, southeast 165) angle. Here it

comes.

It’ll be overhead everywhere by dark.

Tomorrow’s the banger! The “Bu” (Malibu) tomorrow.

Today’s wisdom: “When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro!”

-- Hunter S. Thompson.

* DENNIS MCTIGHE is a Laguna Beach resident. He earned a

bachelor’s degree in Earth Sciences from UC San Diego and was a U.S.

Air Force weatherman at Hickman Air Force Base, Hawaii.