Hurricane Hilary: What to Expect in Terms of Surf

Hurricane Hilary is nigh.

The first tropical storm in over a century will make landfall in Southern California this weekend. Batten down the hatches. And maybe, wax up your surfboards, too?

Per a post from Surfline forecaster Kevin Wallis, he gives us this report:

“Looks like we are going to get some swell from Hilary and Sunday will likely provide the best opportunity/odds for surf and favorable wind. I could see the early AM session starting off slow on Sun, with the swell coming on through the second half of the morning and into/through the afternoon

“Although Hilary has been toying with the SoCal swell window (and my emotions), it has moved into said window over the last 12-18 hours by just a hair. The fetch of Hilary’s large wind field is roughly cut in half for SoCal (meaning about half of the wind is in our window and half is out of our window as of Friday afternoon), but the strongest wind and highest developing seas are pushing up the 155-165 degree great circle path toward SoCal.

“This won’t be a Marie type of swell event (although strictly from a storm perspective, Hilary is in Marie’s class). Because of the extreme incoming swell angle and the fact that the fetch is roughly cut in half, size will be slightly limited. But overhead to well overhead waves at the select spots that can pick it up and really focus it are likely. Other regions like the South Bay and almost all of San Diego will miss it completely. Shoots, even South OC will be fairly limited in size due to the swell direction.

“Our local wind will actually be dictated by Hilary’s circulation later this weekend through early next week. While that’s a common occurrence on the US East Coast during Hurricane seas/swells, it’s rare for Southern California. Wind ranging from NE/N to NNW/NW is increasingly likely for most of Sunday, which will be generally favorable at the zones/breaks that can pick it up.

“There will be other wind/weather impacts from Hilary in SoCal later this weekend into early next week. I won’t go into details but would encourage you to follow reputable accounts like @nws and @nwsnhc_hurricanes for the further info.”

So, expect some rain; some reports are saying an entire year’s worth during this storm. But also expect some surf, but only in particular spots, per Wallis’ report.

For the full report from Surfline, head here.

Stay tuned for what's to come.

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