El Medano Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s break this down.

Look, I ain’t gonna sugarcoat it. From now through the whole 16-day run, El Medano (Tenerife) is looking properly tough. There’s no real quality window to get excited about. The swell never lines up right with the wind, and the conditions are just messy for paddle surfing. If you were hoping for a decent session, you’re gonna be waiting a long time.

Right off the bat, from Thursday the 30th of July through the weekend, it’s all cross-onshore wind and lumpy, choppy waves. The swell is small, mostly around 3 ft to 4 ft, and the period is short, between 6 and 7 seconds, so it’s weak and unorganised. The combined energy is moderate (119 on Thursday morning) but it’s completely wasted with the wind howling from the ENE at 18 to 25 mph. The water temp is 74°F, about average for this time of year, but you won’t care much because the surf is just poor.

We get a glassy moment on Saturday the 1st of August morning – wind drops to zero. But the swell is a tiny 2 ft and period’s only 7 seconds, combined energy a meagre 47. It’s basically flat. Not worth paddling out for.

Then from Sunday through to the second week, the wind just stays cross-on or cross-shore, moderate to strong breeze, gusting up to 28 mph. The swell pops up a bit – Monday 10th August afternoon sees 6 ft from NE, period 6 seconds, combined energy jumping to 324. But it’s all cross-onshore mess. The same story continues through to Wednesday 13th, where we finally get a slight spark: 5 ft NE swell with period 8 seconds, light wind, energy 297. The forecast calls it *marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions* – so it’s there, but not clean. It’s the closest thing to a standout in this whole stretch, but I wouldn’t call it good.

The whole period is dominated by onshore wind, weak short-period swell, and poor quality. Honestly, for a beach-and-reef setup like this, it looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. Even the long-period spikes – like a 21-second, 0.7 ft SSW swell on Friday the 14th of August afternoon (energy 105) – come with fresh cross-onshore wind, so it’s not rideable.

There’s a big gap in real quality surf. You get a slight lift around 11th–13th August, but it’s still compromised. The break is inconsistent and rarely breaks as it is, so this kind of blank run isn’t unusual here. Forecasts can change, but right now, there’s no session I’d recommend.

– Rusty

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