Californias Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s lay it out for you. We’ve got a mixed bag coming our way, with a long wait for the real magic to happen.

The forecast kicks off with a rough start. Wednesday the 26th is a write-off – we’re looking at a stormy, blown-out mess with an 8ft NW swell getting hammered by strong cross-onshore winds. The water is a warm 84°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year. Thursday the 27th is still a struggle: a 8ft W swell, but it’s cross-shore and messy, only giving marginal surf. Friday the 28th through to the end of the month sees the swell drop way off, with tiny 2ft to 4ft waves and clean conditions, but just not enough power to get excited about. There’s a full gap of no surf from the 1st of September through the morning of the 2nd.

Then things start to get interesting. On the afternoon of the 2nd of September, a big 18ft NNW swell rolls in, but the wind is a nasty cross-onshore, so it’s lumpy, choppy, and not for paddling. This setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Now, here’s the standout. Thursday the 3rd of September is where it’s at. Californias (reef) is your spot. We’ve got a solid 16ft NW groundswell, with a long 12-second period, and the wind goes light and cross-shore in the morning, cleaning up into a glassy cross-offshore in the afternoon. This is big, powerful surf – over 8ft, so it’s strictly for experienced surfers. The combined energy is massive, hitting 7695 in the morning, so you’ll feel the ocean’s pulse. The swell direction (NW) is a great match for the optimum here (N). This is the best on offer, no question.

Friday the 4th holds some serious size too, with a 10ft WNW swell and offshore winds in the morning, making for clean, excellent conditions for experienced surfers. The combined energy is still strong at 1891. Saturday the 5th drops to a more manageable 5ft, but still clean under light offshore breezes – good for a wider range of surfers.

There’s another promising window on Monday the 7th of September. The morning is glassy, dead calm, with a 10ft NNW swell. That’s a big, clean set-up, but the period is shorter at 8 seconds, so it’s a bit more wind-swell in character. Still, glassy conditions on a 10ft wave are a rare treat. The energy is 1344. The afternoon gets a bit cross-shore and lumpy. The rest of the second week fades into marginal, cross-shore conditions with dropping swell.

So, lock in the 3rd and 4th of September for the big, clean groundswell. The 7th is a glassy wildcard for the brave. The rest has some clean but small waves, or big but messy ones. As always, the long-range stuff is promising but keep an eye on it.

Rusty.

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