Nice time for a dip

WEATHER TIDBITS

All quiet on the Western Front, in fact, way too quiet out yonder

here.

July 1, no sight of any monsoon moisture, not even in New Mexico.

Flagstaff, Prescott, Tucson, Albuquerque, not even an altocumulus

cloud in June. Some convection over the Colorado Rockies, that’s it.

Things have improved around here the past eight days -- as far as

the gloom’s concerned. There’s still the morning crud, but it’s been

merciful and is yielding to sunny, pleasant afternoons and evenings.

Water temperatures are right at seasonal levels 65 to 68 degrees.

Waves have been consistently in the 2- to 5-foot range with

favorable surface conditions.

Andres, Bianca and Carlos have come and gone -- none of ‘em so far

have cooperated in any manner, cause it’s gotta be a Baja Swell for

the Brooks St. Classic or it’s a no go. Brooks St. doesn’t really do

it’s thing until it’s a severe angle (165 to 180 degrees) short

interval 10 to 11 seconds Chubasco swell.

Anything else, it’s a fraud. New Zealand swells don’t cut it at

Brooks Street. They’re too thick (18 to 20 seconds) and too straight

in.

For things to gel for a weekend contest -- at least a category one

hurricane needs to enter our Baja surf window moving in a northwest

forward direction by late Wednesday up to about midnight -- a

Chubasco’s waves take 48 to 72 hours to arrive here from the moment

the storm crosses that window’s Eastern line. So, bingo, by Saturday

daybreak the first “scouts” from that spinner begin marching onto

Brooks Street reef. If the storm moves 12 mph or slower -- we get

waves both Saturday and Sunday. Once the waves do get here, then

you’ve got surface conditions and compatible tides to throw into the

equation, so it’s a real fickle deal.

Some years that gelling process happens, some years, no go. It’s

July and we’re still waiting -- I can’t hold my breath that long!

Stay tuned!

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

bachelor’s in earth sciences from UCSD and was a U.S. Air Force

weather forecaster at Hickman Air Force Base, Hawaii.