ok so i'm a noobie when it comes to this stuff, and i'm probably gonna get some harsh comments back, but what makes the best waves for us here in the Mid Atlantic? is it the offshore winds, or onshore? and when the arrows on the map are pointing towards land those are onshore? I'm pretty sure NW winds are what kill the surf conditions here in VB but thats about all i know. sorry, i'm just trying to figure it out so i can start making long term guesstimates about the upcoming days. and actually be able to hold a full conversation without sounding like a dum dum any help is good help, thanks
Everyone was in your position at one point, no worries. The direction the beach is facing is important, for example IDK if VB is east, NE, or w/e but LBI is SE and NW winds set it off. Onshore winds, the wind blows from the ocean to beach. Offshore winds blow from mainland to ocean. Also, offshore winds provide the best conditions usually unless they are incredibly strong.
Search a little, I know there have been a couple threads that go into detail about the EC. I remember one specifically from last year during Hurricane Bill.
yes and remember that strong offshores can make it good for a little but will eventually blow it all out, so u gotta get it early when they start up
The tutorials link at the top of the page are a good place to start. Then move on to some of the good surfing books out there that cover topics such as surf forecasting, winds, tides, how waves develop... Then you will be ready to graduate to the wave forecasting classic by Willard Bascom.
ahhhh gotcha. cool than thanks NJ, that's that i was looking for. so now since i'm in VB and we have a NE facing beach, the SW winds would be the best for us, and N/NE winds would mess up the surf?
Yes that's right. LBI faces SE and offshore NW winds make it best, so in other words look at it from the opposite direction
Another factor you must consider is swell direction. VB being a NE facing beach, you want your swells coming from somewhere between East and a North Swell(I think) but a dead on North East swell wouldn't be good because the waves will hit the Sandbars straight on and create closeouts. You want the swell to come on an angle to form the perfect breaking waves.
gotcha. ok cool thanks! ive been trying to figure it out, and didnt wanna be a kook and sound like an idiot. thanks for the help
offshore winds create the best conditions for surfing (granted they are not terribly strong). however, to create waves, we need a storm system to blow winds "onshore", or towards us. onshore is quoted b/c it doesnt have to techinically be blowing on the beach, but just that general direction. that or a far away system such as a hurricane. the best case would be that as soon as the waves appear from these storms, the systems would leave and a offshore wind would appear.
If you look at the surf report for you location it tells you what direction your break facing and what the best wind and swell direction is for it. Surfline also has a thing its either the Surf Map or Travle guide that tell the same thing plus some other important info aswell like what tide is best and other local knowledge that maybe helpful
