Californias Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cooking for the next couple of weeks.

Overall, it’s a real mixed bag. We’ve got a decent pulse of clean, long-period east swell building mid-next week, but then things get blown out by some serious tropical weather. There’s a quiet spell right now that lasts a few days.

Our first real chance of a wave comes on Monday morning, the 3rd of August, but it’s very marginal. A tiny 3ft east swell at a long 15 seconds (290 combined energy). The wind is a light cross-offshore from the north, so it’ll be clean, but the size is barely enough to get you going at Californias (reef break). Nothing to get excited about.

Now, Tuesday the 4th and Wednesday the 5th of August are the standout days. Tuesday morning we see the east swell pick up to a solid 4ft with a very long 18-second period, punching in with strong energy (1093 combined). Wind is a light north-northeasterly, cross-offshore, keeping it absolutely glassy and clean. By Tuesday afternoon it jumps to 5ft east, period still 18 seconds, and the wind swings directly offshore from the northeast at just 6 mph. This is the pick of the window. The early part of Wednesday the 5th is also good, with the swell hitting 6ft east (18 seconds) and a strong 2325 combined energy, but the wind picks up to a moderate 12 mph north-easterly, still clean but less perfect. This swell is over 5ft but under 8ft, so it’s pushing into intermediate territory. The water temperature is sitting at 86°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year.

After that, things go downhill fast. Wednesday afternoon gets a bit too big and windy, and from Thursday the 6th onward, the tropical systems kick in. Swell sizes jump to 15ft on Thursday morning and 16ft by the afternoon, all from the east with a very long 19-second period, but the wind cranks up to a gale from the north (34-40 mph). That’s way too big for this reef, and dangerous. Friday the 7th and Saturday the 8th are total write-offs, with hurricane-force winds and messy, dangerous conditions. We get a long stretch of poor surf from the 6th right through to the 15th of August, either from massive storm surf or howling cross-shore winds making a mess of things.

There is a slight glimmer late in the period. On Sunday the 16th of August, the east-northeast swell drops back to 3ft, but the period is a very long 14 seconds, and the wind is a light easterly breeze, almost glassy. The energy is moderate (280 combined). It’s not big, but it’ll be clean and rideable, a nice way to end the run if the forecasts hold. That’s still over a week out, so treat it as a promising possibility rather than a certainty.

Overall, if you’ve got one day to surf, make it Tuesday the 4th of August. Clean, solid east swell, offshore winds, and enough energy to make those long-period lines peel nicely down the reef. Don’t be late.

Rusty.

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