Pacific
Pressure Charts
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HOW
TO PREDICT A SWELL FROM WEATHER CHARTS
Look
for a storm and verify it will be in your swell window.
Regularly review atmospheric models that depict both surface
pressure and winds (like the AVN or MRF). Look for periods
when winds are forecast to blow in excess of 25 kts towards
your beach for longer than 24 hours. Then verify that
the winds
are forecast to be positioned within your swell window
.
The best situation is to have high winds, covering a large
fetch
area, blowing at you for a long time. But only experience
will
determine what the requirements are for your beach.
A
'swell window' is the part of your ocean that provides
a swell
unobstructed, straight-line access to your beach (even
1000 miles
or more away). Get a globe. Locate your beach. Identify
islands,
shoals, land, or anything that could obstruct a swell
from proceeding
straight into your beach. Using a string and a pin, tie
the string to the
pin, and stick the pin into the globe on your beach. Using
the string
as a guide, pull it tight and out into the ocean away
from your beach.
Move the string in different directions along the surface
of the globe.
Wherever the string first touches the edge of land (or
anything that
would obstruct a swell), trace the line of the string
onto the globe
using a pen. If you have access to "Great Circle"
charts, use them
instead. All beaches will have at least 2 boundaries to
their swell
window, and if islands are present, perhaps many more.