El Palito Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this outlook for El Palito is a tough one. We’ve got a solid 16-day window in front of us, but the surf is not playing ball. The first recommendation doesn’t pop up until the morning of the 8th of August, and even then, it’s a real struggle. There’s a long stretch of days in the second week where the waves just disappear entirely, leaving us flat.

The overall pattern is dominated by weak, short-period windswell from the northeast. The combined wave energy is almost always in the low double digits, like 56 (56) or 60 (60), which is weak energy. The wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore from the ENE, chopping up whatever little bumps there are. The water temp is about average for this time of year.

Let’s run through the days. The best we can see is a faint glimmer on the morning of Monday the 18th of August. We’ve got a 3 ft NE swell with a period of 8 seconds – that’s a short period windswell, so it’ll be a bit lumpy. The wind is light from the north at 6 mph, so it’s technically offshore, which is a positive for clean faces. The combined energy is only 79 (79), so weak. It’s not a standout, but it’s the cleanest looking session in the whole run. The afternoon of the 18th sees the swell push to 3 ft from the NE, with a period of 7 seconds and the energy climbing to 105 (105) – moderate energy. But the wind swings cross-onshore from the east at 9 mph, which will mess up the surface.

The rest of the window is a write-off. Days are either flat, or the “poor surf conditions” tag is stuck on everything. The wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore, with a few glassy periods on the 15th of August morning, but with no swell to ride, it’s just a flat, pretty lake.

Because the swell is so small and the wind is so messy, this is a spot where the consistent northeast windswell is just too weak to overcome the bad conditions. For a beginner-friendly beach break like El Palito, it’s a case of waiting for a better forecast. If you’re really desperate, the morning of the 18th is your one shot, but don’t expect much.

Rusty, signing off.

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