EPIC WAVES IN HAMPTON ROADS, COURTESY OF HURRICANE TEDDY
‘This is what you wait for if you’re a surfer,’ local expert states
VIRGINIA BEACH — Some of the best waves Virginia Beach has seen in recent years started to take shape Tuesday thanks in part to a hurricane swirling well offshore.
And the favorable conditions could hang around for a couple of days.
“This is what you wait for if you’re a surfer in Virginia Beach,” said Kurt Korte, lead forecaster for Surfline.com. “The water’s still warm, and there’s going to be plenty of waves.”
The surf started to clean up Tuesday after several days of whipping wind and choppy, messy waves. Blayr Barton, 15, a competitive surfer who lives in Sandbridge, has been checking the surf report for days.
“It’s probably going to be the best swell we’ve seen in a long time,” said Barton. “I’m looking forward to getting barreled.”
That’s when a surfer glides through a wave as it curls over his or her head. It’s often called being in the “green room.”
Korte said the combination of the low pressure from Hurricane Teddy offshore and a high pressure system parked over the northeastern U.S. is creating the “peakier” sets, which are better for surfing. The forecast is calling for chest- to head-high wave faces Wednesday morning.
Barton and other high school students who are taking virtual classes at home could hardly wait to get in the water Tuesday. Some who live near the ocean biked to the beach on their lunch break to check the surf.
As soon as his last class ended, Barton grabbed his surfboard and paddled out.
Hurricane season peaks in September, which typically makes it a good month for surfing in Virginia Beach. But Korte said this week’s swells will be exceptional.
“Every once in awhile the stars align,” he said.