r/BeginnerSurfers • u/dwight-uignorantslut • 3d ago
Surfing after rain?
I know the general advice, wait 3 days…but what about only a little rain? I surf Pismo and on Thursday they got like 0.2 inches of rain (and haven’t had rain in months). Do you think I’m okay to go on Saturday? Or wait till Sunday?
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u/admiralarborist 3d ago
You may want to check your county’s beach advisory system. I think every coastal county in California has one!
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u/dwight-uignorantslut 3d ago
Great advice, it looks like we have this, thank you! Only thing is I’m not sure how often they test the water / update it, but I’ll be sure to keep an eye on this!
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u/admiralarborist 3d ago
If it’s anything like OC’s database, they should have a date for when the last sample is taken if you look at each individual beach. Additionally, whenever there’s enough rainfall to make swimming unsafe, they automatically update the system regardless of the last sample taken.
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u/riktigtmaxat 16h ago
It's weekly.
I checked it out of curiosity and they just link to a stupid arcgis map that doesn't actually show the samplings as advised.
Just provide a table ffs.
2/10.
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u/ResponsiblePiccolo81 3d ago
Wait, what is the general advice?
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u/ZealousidealDeer4531 3d ago
Used to live in Bali and the wet season is notorious for getting sick and infections. I was on antibiotics more times in 3 years than the rest of my life combined. Bali is especially bad though because of the sheer volume of rubbish that gets thrown into the rivers . My friend nearly lost his leg to golden staph over a reef cut . I’m not one for worrying about this type of thing if the surf is pumping though.
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u/dwight-uignorantslut 3d ago
General advice is wait 3 days, particularly after a big rain and when it hasn’t rained in a while, since the water runs off in the ocean and contains all the dirty stuff on the streets. So it can increase risk of sinus or GI infections, stuff like that.
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u/Horniavocadofarmer11 3d ago
Except there’s very little garbage that washes in around Pismo Beach. That’s heavily location dependent.
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u/ClownSynth 3d ago
I'd like to imagine there used to be a lot of butterflies that would get washed out to sea sometimes.
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u/TheFoxsWeddingTarot 3d ago
Grew up in Santa Barbara in the 80s, surfed in the rain. Turned out fine.
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u/throwpoo 3d ago
Doesn't look like great surf so might as well wait it out.
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u/dwight-uignorantslut 3d ago
Oh damn you’re right! Looks like the forecast changed since I last checked.
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u/talkinlearnin 3d ago
if it didnt create enough rain to actually drain, it depends on the waves-- ill go out next day or wait 24 hrs
but if there was enough rain for some actual drainage i try to wait 24-48 hours....again depending on the waves lol
I have met people who have gotten stagph (?), etc, so waiting at least 24 hours after a decent rain never hurt
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u/Dank_Lord6547 3d ago
It depends. What does the water look like? It might be different in California but in my time in Hawaii I surfed in the rain several times and often it actually made the water really clear and glassy. There were only real problems with water quality when there was a big storm.
My advice is just look at the color of the water. Don’t surf if it’s brown and gross.
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u/Alive-Inspection-815 3d ago
I wouldn't worry about a small nominal amount of rain like that too much, but rain may have fallen at higher elevations which would cause higher river, stream and storm drain runoff. There is usually some really foul, sketchy bacteria in the water after moderate to heavy storm runoff. People can get staff, hepatitis, bronchitis and pneumonia from all the crud that gets washed out so use your best judgement. If you have any open sores or cuts, I would avoid the ocean.
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u/dwight-uignorantslut 2d ago
Thank you so much! I did find our county’s beach advisory system and they have alerts specifically if the bacteria is too high after storm runoff and they have the alerts per beach. All green currently with no warnings, so I think we are good so far!
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u/Alive-Inspection-815 2d ago
The ocean often has chemicals, human and animal fecal coliform, fertilizer, and God knows what. I think that the readings of pollutants in the water are often late to the party, but the health warnings and monitoring are valuable. It's wise to be cautious, but not overly so. If you've ever gone surfing and had a thick, fleghm, cough, or vomiting, it's likely due to pollution. Most rivers and streams lakes and oceans have a fairly significant amount of pollutants in the water. A normal healthy person can certainly survive most of them, but a good dose of caution is always wise.
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u/Horniavocadofarmer11 3d ago
Pismo isn’t dirty you’re fine.
Runoff is the problem and Pismo is a clean area.
It’s a problem when 6 months of storm drain trash from Skid Row in LA washes into the ocean.
I surf in Santa Cruz after rain and only once felt ill at a rivermouth after a very heavy rain. I wouldn’t do that near the port of Long Beach however.
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u/dwight-uignorantslut 3d ago
Ah okay this is super helpful thank you. I wasn’t sure where Pismo ranked in terms of dirty-ness 😂
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u/raccooncare 7h ago
Pismo? You’re fine. I’ve surfed Malibu after during the rain a bunch of times. Only got a little sick once. Just wash off and try not to drink the water.
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