81st Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, it’s Rusty here. Let's have a look at the next couple of weeks for your slice of the coast, focusing on 81st Street. I'm not gonna lie to you, the forecast is pretty flat. We're in for a long stretch where there just isn't much to get excited about for a surfer.

The next week to ten days is basically a dead zone. We’re talking ankle-biters and knee-high slop at best. There’s just no energy in the water. You might see a tiny bump of 2ft early on the 22nd, but it’s short-period, junky swell and the wind is all over the place. There are some clean windows, like Sunday the 23rd with glassy conditions and a light offshore on Monday the 24th, but with waves only around 0.7ft to 1ft, it's barely a ripple. Paddling out with a foamie might be more fun than actually catching anything.

The first real flicker of hope arrives on the morning of Friday, August 28th. The swell bumps up to 3ft from the ESE, with a period of 9 seconds, and the energy jumps to a moderate 133. There’s a light cross-offshore wind making things clean, but it's still only a questionable wave. It's the best we've got, but it's ordinary. We'll call it a "maybe" for the most dedicated among you.

After that little pulse, it's back to the flat spell. We’re talking days and days of nothing. The swell stays small, the winds are mostly onshore or cross-shore, and the energy readings just drop into the teens and twenties. From early September, the swell direction wants to swing more to the SE and SSE, but the size just isn't there to go with it.

Honestly, the standout – and I use that term loosely – is that Friday the 28th morning. It’s not a day to call in sick for, and at 3ft with a 9-second period, it’s small enough for beginners to consider, but the quality isn't there. There are no big swells, no perfect winds, and no solid groundswell to get your heart racing.

Water temp is sitting at 80°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so you won't need a thick wetsuit.

So, there it is. A long, flat outlook. The whole 16-day window is a bust for real surfing. With the waves this small and the wind often messy, the setup at this beach looks like it might be more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. Keep the board in the car and the wax in the drawer for a while longer. Forecasts can change, though, so we'll keep an eye on it.

Rusty.

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