Surf’s up — so is the mercury

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• Forecast: Warm start to holiday shopping season in San Luis Obispo

  Forecast: Warm start to holiday shopping season in San Luis Obispo

  It is the start of the holiday season, but the weather will feel summerlike this weekend, as strong offshore winds boost temperatures to near 80 in San Luis Obispo and skies will be crystal clear, forecasters say.

  Friday’s high in San Luis Obispo was expected to be near 70 degrees, but conditions will heat up today and Sunday. Highs both days will be in the upper 70s, the National Weather Service said. Local forecaster John Lindsey said the thermometer might even rise to 80 degrees in San Luis Obispo this weekend, thanks to the offshore winds predicted to blow overnight. As the winds race down canyons toward the coastline, the air will become compressed and heat up, he explained.

  Lindsey expected winds early today to reach near 45 mph in areas that funnel such breezes, such as coastal canyons and passes, the eastern edge of San Luis Obispo near French Hospital Medical Center, and the area of Morro Bay near the high school.

• April lives up to its reputation

  April lives up to its reputation

  April weather can be as gnarly as bark on a pine tree or as soft as talcum powder. This month of April has certainly lived up to its reputation as a transition month between the cool and blustery weather of winter and the warm and dry weather of summer.

  The month started roughly when a storm off the California coast butted against a strong Eastern Pacific high and produced 16-foot swells at the Diablo Canyon Waverider buoy April 1. That was the biggest swell event since January 2010. The Cape San Martin NOAA marine buoy, stationed 55 nautical miles northwest of Morro Bay, reached even higher, at 23 feet.

  Afterward, a fast-moving front swept across the Central Coast. Cold air filtered in behind it and produced widespread frost throughout San Luis Obispo County. On April 5, a strong Eastern Pacific high developed about 500 miles west of San Luis Obispo and combined with an area of low pressure over Nevada to produce a steep pressure gradient. Consequently, the northwesterly winds reached 37 mph with gusts

• The greater the wind speed, the higher the wave will be

  The greater the wind speed, the higher the wave will be

  The earliest writings from ancient civilizations have told stories of huge waves damaging or sinking ships. Not even modern technology is immune from Neptune’s wrath.

  During World War II, British Prime Minister Winston Churchill offered President Franklin Roosevelt the use of the Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth ocean liners to transport large numbers of U.S. troops to the British Isles. At the time, the Queen Mary was the fastest ocean liner in the world and could outrun any German U-boat.

  In late 1942, the Queen Mary with her thousands of cabins stuffed with soldiers set sail to Britain. Like sailors on submarines, soldiers were required to “hot rack,” or share beds on eight to 12-hour shifts to accommodate as many troops as possible.

• Coldest December in SLO since ’71? Probably

  Coldest December in SLO since ’71? Probably

  This is proving to be the coldest December in San Luis Obispo County in 40 years, according to a new analysis of high and low temperatures by local weather expert John Lindsey.

  The month is not over yet, he cautioned. Still, through Wednesday, this December is colder than any other final month of the year going back to 1971, which is the coldest December on record, Lindsey said.

  His analysis of temperature readings taken at Cal Poly puts numbers to what many locals have been feeling: It really has been cold, especially overnight.

• The facts on foam: fluffy protein

  The facts on foam: fluffy protein

  An area of deep low pressure off the California coastline butted against a strong Eastern Pacific high and produced near-hurricane-force winds over the ocean about 700 miles to west-northwest of San Luis Obispo on March 31. These winds generated huge seas, reaching nearly 40 feet in height. As the sea moved under these fierce winds, it created long-period swells traveling eastward toward the Central Coast.

  These swells arrived along the San Luis Obispo County coastline April 1. They peaked at 16 feet with an 18-second period at the Diablo Canyon Waverider buoy.

  That was the biggest swell event since Jan. 19, 2010, when the Waverider buoy reached 19 feet with an 18-second period. The Cape San Martin NOAA marine buoy, stationed 55 nautical miles northwest of Morro Bay, reached even higher, at 23 feet.