Elwha Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let me break down what we’ve got for the Elwha region over the next couple of weeks. It’s a quiet stretch ahead, so I’ll be straight with you.

Right now, and for the next few days, conditions are pretty ordinary. The water is sitting at 52°, which is a full 7° colder than usual for this time of year – that’s a real chilly dip, so a thick wetsuit is a must. The first few days show weak swell energy, with combined energy only around 65 to 281, and the waves are small, mostly between 3ft and 4ft, coming from the west or west-northwest. The wind is mostly cross or cross-onshore, keeping things messy. There’s a brief moment of glassy conditions on Tuesday afternoon and Wednesday afternoon, but the waves are still tiny, around 3ft, so it’s barely a bump.

The first real glimmer comes on Thursday morning, August 6th. The wind goes glassy early, and the swell is 3ft from the west-northwest with a period of 8 seconds. The combined energy is a modest 115, but it’s the cleanest we’ll see for a while. Still, the comment says “surfable but very ordinary” – it’s not a standout, just a small window of okay conditions.

After that, it’s back to poor surf through the rest of the first week and into the second. We get a few more glassy mornings, like on August 9th and 11th, but the swell stays small, around 3ft to 3ft. The energy bumps up a bit on August 11th morning, with a combined energy of 173 and glassy wind, but the wave height is just 3ft – not enough to get excited about.

Then, from August 12th into the weekend, the swell drops off even more, down to 2ft, but the period stretches out to 15–16 seconds. That’s a long-period groundswell, but it’s tiny. The combined energy is still moderate, around 155–182, but with such small waves, it’s mostly just a swell on the water. The wind is mostly cross, so it’s not clean either. On August 14th morning, we get glassy conditions again, but again, only 2ft waves.

The very end of the outlook, around August 16th and 17th, shows a bit more energy – combined energy up to 227 on the 16th morning – but the wind is picking up to a gentle or moderate breeze, and the waves are still only 3ft to 4ft, with poor conditions.

Honestly, there’s no real standout session here. The closest thing to a surfable window is the glassy morning on August 6th, but even that’s just small, ordinary waves. For the rest of the 16 days, it’s mostly a blank run. The Elwha is a river mouth, and it’s often inconsistent, so this quiet stretch isn’t too surprising. If you’re desperate, you might get a few tiny, clean waves on a glassy morning, but don’t expect much.

Keep an eye on the forecasts – things can change. But for now, we’re in a flat spell.

Rusty.

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