Abalone Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next couple of weeks at Abalone Cove are looking pretty grim for anyone wanting to get a proper wave. The forecast is a long, flat stretch of tiny, weak surf. We’re talking ankle-biters at best. The call is a hard “no” for any quality surfing for the entire 16-day window.

The only spot on the radar is Abalone Cove (Palos Verdes), a sheltered reef set-up that’s inconsistent and only really works on a good SW swell. The problem is, that good swell just isn’t coming. The energy is weak, with the combined swell energy reading between 89 and 246 for most of the period. That’s just not enough push for this place to do anything.

The water is currently a balmy 73°, which is a whopping 7° warmer than normal for this time of year. That’s a seriously unusual warm pool of water, but it won’t help the waves.

We start off Tuesday the 4th with a tiny 1ft SW swell, but the wind is all over the shop. A light southerly in the morning is okay, but it shifts westerly in the afternoon, making it cross-shore and choppy. Wednesday the 5th is more of the same, with a light cross-onshore breeze messing things up. Thursday the 6th is a bit of a tease, the swell bumps up slightly, but it’s still tiny and the wind stays onshore.

The first real pulse of energy comes through Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th. The swell from the SSW jumps to 1ft-2ft, and the period stretches out to 19 seconds. That’s proper groundswell, but it’s still too small to overcome the lack of power. The energy readings do climb to 234, but it’s still not enough to make this place break with any sort of shape. Plus, the light, onshore south wind in the mornings will keep it bumpy.

The following week, from the 11th to the 13th, sees a slight improvement in the mornings with light offshore winds, but the swell remains tiny at 1ft-2ft. Still no good.

The standout, if you can call it that, is around the 14th and 15th of August. The swell builds to a slightly more respectable 2ft-3ft from the SSW, and the energy readings jump into the 349-408 range. That’s moderate energy, a real sign of life. The period is still solid, around 16-18 seconds. But the wind is the killer. It’s cross-shore and gusting up to 15 mph, which will chop up any hope of a clean wave. It’s just a mess. Given the size, the wind, and the beach-reef setup, this period looks more interesting for the kite surfers than for us paddle surfers.

After that, it fades back to nothing. The 16th and 17th still have some 2ft-3ft swell, but with the same cross-shore westerly winds, it’s not worth the paddle. By the 18th and 19th, it’s back down to 1ft-2ft and the wind is still messy.

So, there it is. A long, bleak outlook. The swell is too small, the wind is too messy, and the break is too inconsistent. Don’t waste your time. Keep your board in the car and wait for a better day. Forecasts can change, but as it stands, this is a blank run.

Rusty.

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