El Medano Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Looking at the next couple of weeks for our stretch of coast, and I’ll be straight with you: it’s a tough stretch. We’ve got a long, dry run of poor conditions ahead. Most of the energy we’re seeing is weak to moderate, with combined swell energy readings mostly in the low hundreds – you’re looking at values like 71, 103, and 111 in the first few days. It’s cross-onshore, it’s lumpy, and there’s just no push to it. The wind’s mostly coming from the ENE, and that’s not doing us any favors. We’re seeing wave heights around 3ft to 4.5ft, but with periods of only 5 to 7 seconds, it’s just a messy chop with no substance.

Looking at our main spot, El Medano, it’s a beach and reef setup, and it’s rarely breaking at the best of times. The water temp is hanging around 74.9°F, which is just about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

Now, if you’re patient, there’s one morning that might just give you a little something. On the morning of the 13th of September, we’ve got a glimmer of hope. The wind drops to a glassy 3 mph from the east, which is a huge positive – we’re talking clean, glassy surface. Wave height is around 4.2ft from the NNE with a period of 8 seconds. Combined energy is moderate at 276. It’s not a monster, but it’s the best we’ll see for a while. The swell direction is from the NNE, which is not optimal for El Medano, as it prefers a SSW swell, so it won’t be breaking at its best. But with the wind as clean as it is, it’s your only real shot. Given the spot is "rarely breaks," this is a notable window. It’s not going to be big, but it could be clean and fun for a surf.

After that, it’s back into the doldrums. The wind picks back up to cross-onshore, and the swell drops off to almost nothing for days. There’s a tiny blip on the 15th with a glassy, 0.6ft bump from a very long-period SSW swell, but that’s barely rideable. The next week and a half is a write-off, with relentless cross-onshore winds and small, short-period swell. There’s a moderate pulse of energy around the 20th with 5ft from the NNE and energy at 383, but it’s a NE wind swell, and it’s crossed up again. The long forecast period after the 13th looks poor. The breaks just won’t be working with this wind and swell combo, and with such low consistency, it’s a standard blank run for this area. It doesn’t look like it’ll be poor forever, so keep an eye on the forecasts. But right now, I’d say the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing with that constant side-shore wind and mushy waves than for paddling out. As always, keep it salty.

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