El Medano Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the menu for El Medano over the next couple of weeks.

Straight off the bat, I gotta be honest with you – the first week is a real struggle. From Monday the 10th all the way through the morning of Saturday the 15th, we're looking at a solid block of poor surf conditions. The wind is just hammering us from the ENE, mostly in that cross-on range, making a mess of even the small swell that's coming in. The swell energy is pretty weak for most of it, barely cracking three digits, and the period is short and choppy. Not worth paddling out for.

Then, the morning of Saturday the 15th of August, we get a little glimmer of hope. The wind drops right off – it's glassy. The swell is still small at 4ft from the NE, but the combined energy has jumped up to a moderate 234 (that's a moderate wave energy reading). The conditions are surfable, but very ordinary. Still, a glimmer.

Sunday the 16th and Monday the 17th see a shift in the swell direction to the SSW, and the period gets long – real long, up to 17 seconds. That's proper groundswell energy, and the combined energy is now strong, hitting 389. But the wind is still a cross-on, and the waves are small, with the swell height barely topping 3ft. It's a tease.

Now, Tuesday the 18th of August is where things start to get interesting. The morning is glassy, and by the afternoon it's glassy again with a light offshore wind from the ESE. The swell is 2ft from the SSW, with a period of 13-14 seconds. The energy is strong at 274. The forecast is calling for "expect good surf conditions." This is the first real window of quality.

Then Wednesday the 19th and Thursday the 20th of August are the true standouts. We've got a clean cross-offshore wind from the SW on Wednesday morning, turning to dead calm and glassy by the afternoon. The swell is 3ft from the SSW, with a very long 16-second period. The combined energy is a hefty 389. Thursday morning is even better – dead calm, glassy, with a 3ft SSW swell at 14 seconds and a combined energy of 487 (that's strong wave energy). This is the best on offer. The water temp is sitting at 75°, which is about 1° above normal, so nothing wild there – just your average warm summer water.

After that, the wind turns back onshore from the ENE from Thursday afternoon onward, and the quality drops off again through the rest of the week and into the second week, with small, messy, cross-on conditions. The long range shows a bit of NE windswell returning around the 23rd, but it's short period and onshore, so nothing to get excited about.

So, the standout is clear: El Medano on Wednesday the 19th and Thursday the 20th of August. The swell is small but clean, the wind is either offshore or glassy, and the energy is strong. It's a rare and quiet spot, so you won't be fighting for waves. The long period groundswell from the SSW will wrap in nicely, making for some clean, lined-up waves on the reef and sand. That's the window to mark on your calendar.

Rusty.

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