Taste of Fall

A moderately thick low fog moved into the coast this morning.  A cyclist was struck by a car north of Santa Cruz on Route 1, this morning.  Drive carefully.  Over the past few days we had a delicious taste of fall weather, with sunny mornings, calm winds and warm afternoons.  The beaches were packed from San Francisco, all the way down to Santa Cruz.  That is all changing today.  While the sun came out fairly early here in town, the grey is hanging tight on the north coast.  For the next several days we can expect an increasing marine layer and cool, damp mornings.  We might even see just a bit of precipitation.

Small surf and sunny days were the name of the game this past weekend.

Also in the news is the first real autumn swell of the season that is to arrive along our coast after sunset tonight.  This thing is not going to be Maverick's big, but it will be sizable.  Ocean Beach can expect to see waves exceeding ten feet.  The surfers are going to love it, and the viewing will be great.  As always, use caution when approaching the ocean during these large wave events.  People have been know to be swept out to sea, often during the first few swells of the season.  Expect some great action near Davenport, and down into town starting Thursday morning.  Waves will slowly subside through Friday and then hold over the weekend.  And more storms may be on tap for this next week.

Coastal moss loves the fog.

So the bad news is the return of the fog and cooler days.  This will stick around at least for the short term.  As more storms begin to move into the Gulf of Alaska, there is a chance that they will pull that marine layer back out to sea.  It is really only a matter of time.  Thursday will be cooler, and cooler yet for the weekend.  Santa Cruz could stay below 70F, and the fog could be in all day.  But conditions look to improve by the middle of next week.  And we are still seeing precipitation modeled for the beginning of the month.  Perchance October will start with rain.