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John D. of Landlocked, KS writes: Why do I keep hearing about the red tide invading our shores? Should I be concerned? JD, the phenomena you’re referring to does not involve politics or people. It doesn’t

Increased reports of painful stings along Southern California‘s beaches over fall and winter reminds us that stingrays don’t follow calendars, they show up when they please, not just in summer. That doesn’t

Not since Jaws has shark hysteria surged like last year in Southern California. But instead of a lone-wolf, animatronic behemoth inciting fear from the silver screen, last year saw packs of juvenile great

Putting any deeper philosophical debate aside, there is nary a surfer alive that doesn’t dream of surfing Kelly’s man-made wave at the Surf Ranch. With plans progressing for an eventual East Coast Ranch

Surfline user Jeff writes: “Atlantic southern hemi swells in the north east have always intrigued me. I have surfed some long period southern ocean stuff while growing up at the beach breaks in NJ. These

Ever since people invented trash, the sea has served as our favorite dump.Getting rid of garbage on land is hard work, and it involves burning and/or burial. Burning rubbish creates sick smelling smoke

nquisitive Surfline user “Barry” writes: “Ok so I’ve been looking at the details and I’ve already got stumped. As I understand it, wind starts from air moving from high pressure areas to low pressure areas

Few things in the world of surf forecasting elicit the visceral reaction that a ‘purple blob’ does when LOLA indicates it is aimed at your local break. The average surfer might not know exactly how big

Waves and swell are created by wind. Around the earth, we have areas of high air pressure and areas of low air pressure in the atmosphere. Think of the air as liquid, as water. The areas of high pressure

Surfline user Josh writes: “Dearest Rad Forecasters, Why does the South Pacific act up (send swell) during its winter & why does the North Pacific send us swell during winter? Essentially I see a tension

An inquisitive Surfline user writes . . . “Can you explain why tides often go very high, but rarely go that far negative?” I was curious of this as well, and after doing some searching and talking among

“In regards to local water temp.. I am curious if the swell direction has anything to do with bringing in colder or warmer water.. I know it is winter and everything is colder, but I am curious if the

A Physic’s definition of refraction involves a change in the direction of waves as they pass from one medium to another. This is due to energy conservation when a wave changes its wavelength, and thus

Have you ever wondered how does Surfline determines surf heights and quality ratings? If so, you’re in luck, because we dug through the archives to resurface this article from Surfline founder Sean Collins.

The WSL World Championship Tour returns to Saquarema this week, one of Brazil’s premiere surfing arenas, for the Oi Rio Pro. Within the Saquarema zone, the WSL has the option of two breaks: Itaúna and

Surfline’s forecasters are some of the most learned people in all of surfing. Surfline’s Chief Meteorologist Mark Willis recently shared some of this wave knowledge and experience on The Weather Channel’s,

Ever since people invented trash, the sea has served as our favorite dump.Getting rid of garbage on land is hard work, and it involves burning and/or burial. Burning rubbish creates sick smelling smoke

This is a very complex question which has been a personal quest of mine to figure out for nearly 30 years — and this is what I’ve learned: The wind in the midst of storms usually does blow in intervals,

Have you ever wondered how tide influences surf conditions, and whether or not there is a “best” tide for surfing? Surfline’s Jonathan Warren weighs in on this oft-misunderstood topic below. “Tide is the

To surf, or not to surf. That’s the question many of us frequently face, when a deluge falls from above, surface streets are lined with tributaries, and bacterial runoff rushes towards the ocean. But,