The southern-hemi season is off to a good start. Image: Surfline
There is a storm of titanic proportions spinning off the southernmost tip of the Americas. And in the next few days, as it works its way north, things are going to get exciting.
If we’re really lucky, we get a few storms each year that turn our wet little playgrounds into an absolute paradise. If you’ve got a spot you consistently surf, you know the feeling: when a good portion of the year is spent surfing those average days, it’s hard not to remember the ones where everything lined up perfectly. Well, chances just got little better that one of those days might be coming up for you soon.
The storm in the South Pacific is shaping up to exceed some pretty high expectations. When Surfline began tracking the storm last week, they stayed on the safe side. “Considering the storm has yet to take shape, surf expectations must be tempered until we see the winds hit the water,” they wrote. “Regardless of final storm strength and swell size, guidance points to a powerful storm developing with solid to large swell reaching many locales across the Pacific basin.”
And did it ever develop. Satellites later in the week measured winds of more than 50 knots over a huge fetch, with small pockets whipping themselves into hurricane force. Seas have been measured at over 55 feet–which, of course, is very, very big.
“Storms with seas topping 50ft are very noteworthy,” Surfline wrote. “Storms nearing 60ft graduate into truly elite status, which this storm has rightfully achieved.”
While swell from the storm should reach most of the west coast of North America in the next few weeks–according to the models, it’ll be well into California by Monday, May 4th–Chile is on the highest of high alerts. As the first destination of the WSL Big Wave World Tour, Chile and its infamous Punta de Lobos is setting up to be an incredible start to the season. A green light has been given for a Thursday start. BWT events require a minimum wave height of 25 feet, which this storm easily surpassed.
“The swell that’s coming in is predicted to be one of the biggest we’ve seen in a long time,” said Gary Linden, vice president of the BWT. “We’ll look to get started around 10 a.m. but will push it later if we can. The timing is a little late–it’s supposed to be bigger in the afternoon–but it should make for a fantastic Final.”
