El Palito Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s talk about what’s happening locally for the next couple weeks. To be honest, it’s pretty flat and mostly messy. Almost every session in the forecast is marked as “poor surf conditions” and you’ll see a lot of days with no swell at all. There are some tiny little pulses here and there, but they’re weak and get chopped up quick. The one thing that’s nice is the water – at El Palito, the temp is around 82°F, which is about 0.5°F above normal for this time of year, so it’s pretty average.

Here’s how it looks day by day.

From Friday the 17th all the way through to Tuesday the 22nd morning – nothing. Zero swell in the water, just wind and chop. On Tuesday afternoon there’s a little 3ft, 6-second windswell from the NE, but it’s cross-onshore and the combined energy is only 81 – real weak.

Wednesday the 23rd and Thursday the 24th, same story: no swell. Friday the 25th morning shows a tiny 3ft from the NE, 6 seconds, with a combined energy of 68, but it’s called poor. The wind’s light offshore in the AM, but the waves are just too small and short to do anything with. Afternoon gets a bit bigger at 3ft, but cross-onshore and choppy.

The next few days – 26th, 27th, 28th – just roll out the same pattern. Small NE windswell around 3ft to 3ft, periods of 6 to 7 seconds, and every afternoon the cross-onshore wind ruins it. Combined energy sits between 61 and 84. For a beach and breakwater spot like El Palito, it’s more of a wind sports day than a surf day.

There's a tiny window on the morning of Monday the 27th – 3ft, 7 seconds from the NE, with a light offshore from the NNE at about 6 mph. That’s about as clean as it gets, but the swell is ankle-high and combined energy is only 65. Might be good for a small log if you’re desperate.

Then there’s another big gap from the afternoon of the 27th all the way to the morning of the 30th – nothing. On the 30th, we get a quick hit: 3ft, 7-second NE swell in the morning, combined energy of 91, light offshore, but it disappears by afternoon.

The last few days into August 1st show similar tiny pulses – 3ft to 3ft, low energy, always falling apart in the afternoon. The very last reading on August 1st morning hits a combined energy of exactly 100, with a 3ft NE swell at 7 seconds and a light offshore breeze. That’s the closest thing to a bright spot, but even then, the conditions are still called “poor.”

So yeah – if you’re looking for waves, this isn’t the time. The swell is small, short-period, and almost always cross-onshore. The water’s warm, the vibe is flat. For a beginner, some of those 3ft to 3ft days might look like they’re worth a go, but the quality just isn’t there. Best to keep an eye on the forecast in case something changes, but for now, it’s a long, quiet patch.

Hang tight.

- Rusty

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