Key Points
- Slow winter ends as West Coast sees major west/northwest swell ignite many surf spots.
- Black’s Beach in San Diego experiences 8–12ft waves, delivering classic big wave conditions.
- Surfers face fast takeoffs, deep barrels, and late drops during exceptional winter swell.
It’s been somewhat of a slow, weird winter in terms of waves.
Talk to any surfer – particularly those in Hawaii and Europe, Southern and Northern California – and they’ll tell you the same. Not much action, a few moments here and there, but nothing too noteworthy. The East Coast has been a different, although colder story.
Over the weekend, however, that all changed. A decent-sized west/west-north-west hit the West Coast, igniting many spots. Across the border, Todos Santos awoke for the 2026 Thriller at Killers competition. And stateside, Black’s Beach in San Diego turned on…