“In regards to local water temp.. I am curious if the swell direction has anything to do with bringing in colder or warmer water.. I know it is winter and everything is colder, but I am curious if the local water temp has more to do with tides and currents than incoming swell events..

My friends and i always assume that a south swell will bring in warmer water and a north will bring colder… Is the water temp connected to incoming swell events?

Thanks – you guys are my first stop in the am

Brandon Caldarella”

Brandon,

How can the water temperature drop so suddenly? And what makes this happen? These are two questions which are asked a lot, and for a very good reason. The water temp can make or break a surf session or just a regular family day at the beach. One day you can be ‘skinning it’ in 75deg water, then the next morning wearing a full suit in 63deg water (that is if you were prepared and brought the suit for that session). Otherwise, you’d be sitting on the beach watching the surf in your baggies perplexed on how the water got so chilly.

Due to the Coriolis Effect in the Northern Hemisphere, basically a body in motion deflects to the right. Therefore, as wind blows across the surface of the ocean, the general flow of the surface current will veer to the right. Taking a look at a West facing beach; a strong North wind will deflect the surface water along the coast towards the right. As the warmer surface water moves out to sea, deeper/colder water will fill in to replace the void in an upwelling process, thus colder water temperatures are brought to the surface! Furthermore, breaking waves along these beaches with upwelling will help with the mixing of colder water temperatures.

For Orange County, strong NW winds and windswell will bring those chilly water temps along the coast.

S winds and warmer water temps; again with respect to a West facing beach… the warmer water temps on the surface of the water are brought in from the SSW (where warmer waters and air reside usually). Think about the above, but in reverse. ***A strong S wind and S current on the West facing beach, with the aid of wave action will also result in undertows.

Hope this helps some.

Jonathan Warren