Dunes Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’ve been studying the charts for the Dunes in our area. Let’s get into it.

The forecast kicks off Monday, August 10th, and it’s a slow start. The first few days are a bust—Monday afternoon is marginal with a cross-breeze messing up the 4ft SW swell, and Tuesday morning is a no-go despite 25 mph offshore winds because the waves are tiny and the wind is too strong to paddle into. Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday morning are also nothing to get excited about.

The first real chance comes Wednesday afternoon, August 12th. That’s when the wind goes glassy, with a light NW breeze of 3 mph. The waves are 3ft from the SW, with a long 16-second period, and the combined swell energy is moderate at 484. It’s going to be clean and glassy, but it’s a small day.

The standout window, and I mean the one you want to mark on your calendar, is the morning of Tuesday, August 18th. The wind is glassy again, 3 mph from the W, and the swell is a solid 5ft from the SW with a 15-second period. The combined energy is strong at 963, and the conditions are listed as “very good.” This is a beautiful, clean morning for a reef break like Dunes. The water temp is 75°F with a nearly normal anomaly of 0.9°F, so it’s just about average for this time of year. No crowds mentioned, but Dunes is “sometimes” busy, so you might have a few friends out.

If you’ve got the skills, the morning of Wednesday, August 19th, is a big-wave day for experts only. The swell jumps to 7ft from the WSW, with a 16-second period, and the combined energy hits 2285—that’s very strong. The wind is glassy, 3 mph from the WSW, so it’ll be clean, but this is too big for most. Only the experienced crew should be out there.

After that, the swell backs off a bit, but we get another solid morning on Friday, August 21st, with a 5ft SW groundswell, 13-second period, and light offshore winds from the SE at 6 mph. Combined energy is 1305, which is strong, and it’s clean. This is another excellent option for experienced surfers.

The final mention is Sunday, August 23rd, morning. Another 5ft SW swell, 16-second period, with a light cross-offshore breeze from the SSE at 9 mph. The energy is 1401, making it strong, and the conditions are clean. Another good one for the crew who can handle the long-period swell.

The rest of the days are marginal or poor, with onshore winds and chop. The 16-day window has a few decent gaps, but the two true standouts are the Tuesday morning (August 18th) for the glassy, clean conditions, and the Wednesday morning (August 19th) for the big-wave hunters. The long-period swells are best for this reef break, as the waves will shape up nicely.

Rusty.

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