El Medano Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: this outlook is a tough one. For the next 16 days, El Medano is mostly a no-go for any kind of decent paddle surfing. The opening week is absolutely hammered by strong, onshore winds that are going to keep the surf small, choppy, and messy. We’re talking mostly weak, short-period windswell from the NE with combined energies mostly in the double digits (as low as 74) to low triple digits, and hardly a wave worth the paddle. The whole period from Wednesday morning through to the following Monday is a write-off—roughly six days of poor conditions.

There is a glimmer, though. Tuesday the 18th afternoon through to Wednesday the 19th, we get a brief window of glassy conditions. The swell shifts to a cleaner SSW groundswell, with periods hitting 14 to 16 seconds, bringing a bit more shape. The combined energy jumps up to moderate territory (e.g., 305 to 455), and the offshore is dead calm or glassy. This is the only real standout. The morning of the 18th is glassy but small, so the afternoon is better. Wednesday the 19th is the pick of the bunch: S wind at 0 km/h, glassy, with 3 ft to 3 ft SSW swell at 15-16 seconds. It’s small, but for a quiet spot that rarely breaks, it’s the best you’ll get. Keep in mind El Medano (beach and reef) is exposed to SSW and the optimum is from the SSW, so this is spot on. Crowds are possible.

After that, it’s back to onshore winds and poor surf, with a few marginal days around the 21st and 23rd morning, but nothing to get excited about. The final week fades into tiny, weak surf with combined energy dropping back to double digits. For the experts, there’s just nothing with any size. For beginners, the swell never gets above 3 ft in the good windows anyway.

All in all, if you’re free on the afternoon of Tuesday the 18th or Wednesday the 19th, you might snag a few clean, waist-high runners. Otherwise, it’s a long wait.

Rusty.

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