El Medano Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Straight up, the next couple of weeks are going to test your patience. We’ve got a long stretch of onshore winds and messy, cross-onshore surf that’s going to keep the flags up on the beach. The good news is, there’s a window of proper glassy conditions on the horizon, but it’s a bit of a wait.

The first week is a write-off. From Saturday the 8th through to about the 19th, it’s all NE and ENE winds, mostly fresh and cross-onshore, keeping the surf lumpy and choppy. Swell heights float around the 2ft to 5ft mark, but with that wind, it’s not worth paddling out. The energy is weak to moderate, with values mostly in the 100-250 range, so there’s not much push anyway. This is a spot that rarely breaks clean, and this stretch is proving it. Honestly, for the first ten days, you’re better off finding something else to do.

Now, here’s the standout. On Thursday the 20th, the wind drops out completely. We’re talking glass. The morning shows a light SE breeze, and by the afternoon it’s dead calm. The swell flips to a proper SSW groundswell with a long period of 15 seconds, pushing wave heights to 3ft. The combined energy jumps into the strong range, hitting 416 in the morning and 477 in the afternoon. This is the day. El Medano is a beach and reef setup, and a long-period SSW swell like this is exactly what it needs. The water is a warm 74°, which is about normal for this time of year. This is the one to circle.

The following day, Friday the 21st, still has some life in the morning with a lighter ENE breeze and the same long-period SSW swell, but the afternoon wind kicks back in and turns it messy. After that, it’s back to the onshore slop for the rest of the window, with the swell fading out. So, one solid day on offer. Make it count.

Rusty.

Read more