As I sit here at my computer, the headlines at Swellinfo.com read, “Hurricane Danielle reached category 4 status this past Friday and was all set to send solid swell throughout the East Coast. Buoys along Florida and the Southeast were up, but wave heights along the Northeast left some in the upper half of the coast wondering where this mystical swell went.”

This weekend has to go down as one of the biggest letdowns of the year. As we become increasingly reliant on the internet and web forecasting, we have also increased our expectations. As recently as a few years ago, surfers were forced to make their own predictions based on weather forecasts and predictions. With the introduction of Surfline.com and its competitors, we now expect to have accurate surf predictions for each and every spot around the world available any time we want them.

Not only that, we expect these forecasts to accurately predict conditions far into the future. Never mind that this is completely impossible when dealing with something as fickle as the weather.

Nevertheless, the entire East Coast was prepared for an epic swell event this past weekend. Hurricane Danielle was spinning off our coast and was sure to send head-high barrels to every spot along the East Coast.

Every forecast was calling for one of the best swells of the year, and surfers were booking hotel rooms at a record pace.

Yet what we got was predominantly waist-high shore break. Sure, there were a few spots that saw some better waves, but for the most part, the forecasts missed it by a mile.

Of course they are not to blame, as these storms and the swell they produce are incredibly difficult to predict. According to Micah Sklut at Swellinfo.com, the reason for the miss was complicated: “The best guess we have at Swellinfo of the overcall is due to Danielle’s quick shift to the northeast.”

Despite this weekend’s lackluster surf, there is sure to be another huge buildup for the upcoming swell from Hurricane Earl.

The storm is quickly building strength in the tropics, and once again the forecasts are calling for large surf by the end of the week. For now, let’s keep our fingers crossed, but hold off on that hotel room for a couple more days.