Rincon Puerto Rico Surf Forecast – Jan 11, 2017

Round 2 Fight! Nonstop surf for Rincon and all of Puerto Rico.

The fetch across the North Atlantic is insane! The north atlantic buoy has been in the 15-18 ft range most of today. This means that Friday’s pulse should be solid even though it will have a NE angle to it. The larger wind swell should continue to pump through tomorrow and most likely we’ll stay at double overhead tomorrow. For Friday and Saturday the period and swell height should be fairly decent to keep us seeing larger surf. The models have been picking up on a super long period pulse on the 17th that could be EPIC. Judging by the setup on satellite imagery right now I am inclined to believe this scenario. We could see some 20 second period NE swell on the 17th. The only bad news in this forecast is that the wind will not slow down. Tucked away nooks and crannies will continue to be the call. Unfortunately, NE angle won’t reach as well into those nooks and crannies like this past run of NW swell did.

Using Automated Forecast Tools:

Remember that no matter what a computer model tells you, what you see on the beach might be completely different. That's why i go take pictures of the beach every day. These tools help give an idea of what to expect, but weather prediction is not always exact especially the further out you try to forecast. Surf forecasting takes into account the general correlation between past weather data and resulting surf conditions. Another thing to keep in mind is the difference between actual swell height and the face height of the rideable wave it creates. For example. When the waves are forecast to have a 6ft swell at 13 seconds or higher with a NW angle we normally get waves that most people would call double over-head on sets. Swell angle is also important, especially for shorter period swell (9-11 seconds). For example 3ft at 11 seconds from the NW will make a bigger wave than 4ft at 9 seconds from the NE. Normally longer period swell (13+ seconds) will be more powerful and keep the surf size a little better even if the angle isn't a direct hit to Rincon. Generally any swell less than 9 seconds is super weak here in Rincon unless it has a lot of west in it. Also, most NE swell under 12 seconds is weak and mushy. 2ft at 8 seconds is generally small to flat. ENE swell will almost never make it into Rincon unless it was something like 10ft at 18 seconds from the ENE.