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Surfline's chief forecaster Sean Collins takes this one on:

1) Why have we seen so many good medium size days at Ocean Beach and North, Santa Cruz and North this year?

We have had very little high pressure in the North Pacific and a strong high pressure ridge over California. The end result was a very long, horizontal fetch stretching from Japan to the Gulf of Alaska which produced a consistent series of medium sized swells. The high pressure
over California kept conditions very clean which helped to produce a great number of really good days.

2) Why haven't there been any really big swells to hit Maverick's?

Well, actually there have been a couple of really big days but the storm was also upon us so it was unsurfable. December 16th was the last one when the 46012 Half Moon Bay buoy went out.

Otherwise, I think Maverick's tends to be at its best from swells generated by storms within 1,000 miles of the coast. Those kind of swells produce the raw energy that Maverick's can really focus. Long period swells from far away storms might actually do more at Todos or Cortes, because the Farallon Islands seem to mess up most the pure long period swell energy before it can refract into Maverick's -- unless a storm is within 1,000 miles.

3) Why have Todos and Hawaii been getting such good surf?

Same as above. Also, contrary to popular belief, the same swells that hit Hawaii don't hit California. California gets swell from a completly different part of the storm. The November 26th swell that hit Jaws was from the backside of the storm and that swell progress all the way down
toward Tahiti. The portion of that same storm aimed for California was much weaker.

4)Why are we getting so much rain this early and how does that effect the surf and storm patterns?

As the high pressure shifts around a little and adjusts, Northern and Central California have been left open to the storm track and a lot of rain. With the exception of one good dumping in December, Southern California has been mostly protected by that high pressure. We have also
had a tremendous amount of activity from typhoons in the Western Pacific getting sucked up into the North Pacific storm track. The merging of that warm tropical air with cold Arctic air has further intensified the wind speeds and moisture content in most of the storms this season. The
tropical moisture associated with these storms has taken a special aim at Northern and Central California which has resulted in a series of very wet systems dumping a lot of rain. El Nino actually has had nothing to do with it.

5) Is there still a chance the west coast (Mavericks) could get a huge rideable swell this season?

Oh yes, absolutely. Look for things to break loose in January and February as the high pressure along the coast weakens and the storm track moves closer to California. (See Surfline's video channel for early proof of that last one.)