Growing up a surfer, fisherman and junior lifeguard in Huntington Beach, Matt Kibby’s connection with surfing came naturally. But his foray into surf forecasting was anything but. It was actually his obsession with aviation that cleared a path towards a BS in Meteorology from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University; and ultimately, a job with Surfline in 2016.
While his favorite part of the job is “waking up to see the forecast that had you smashing your head into the keyboard the day before is verified,” he still counts the XXL Cloudbreak swell in May 2018 as his fondest tracking memory. “First time ever forecasting for Fiji, and the storm generating the swell still needed to make the turn into the Tasman Sea,” he recalls. “I remember being blown away by the potential of storm, and as it continued to develop, before detonating on the reefs of Fiji.”
Matt lives in Costa Mesa, CA.
