Emma Wood State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s just get it straight – this outlook for Emma Wood State Beach is a tough one. For the next couple of weeks, the ocean is pretty much asleep. There’s no real swell on the cards, just tiny pulses that won’t give you much to work with. We’ve got a long, quiet spell ahead.

The only real kick of energy comes around Sunday July 20th, but even then it’s a mixed bag. We’ll have to endure a lot of flat days before that.

Starting from Thursday July 9th right through to Friday July 18th, we’re looking at a long stretch of poor conditions. Swell heights are stuck between 1.0ft and 2ft, with a very long period groundswell coming from the SSW, around 15 to 19 seconds. The combined wave energy is mostly weak, ranging from about 57 to 296, so you’re not getting much push. Winds are light, mostly onshore or cross-onshore, which doesn't help the crumbly, weak surf. The water temperature is about 64°F, which feels a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s the only highlight.

Then things get interesting around the 19th and 20th of July. On Sunday the 19th, the swell picks up a bit, with the S swell hitting 2ft to 3ft, and the combined energy jumps right up – 436 in the morning, 664 in the afternoon. That’s moderate to strong energy, so there’s some weight in the water. However, the winds are cross-onshore and it’s still considered marginal. It’s going to be a little lumpy, not glassy.

The best chance for a surf comes on Monday the 20th of July. The S swell holds at 4ft to 4ft with a period of 15 seconds – that’s long-period groundswell, which, for a beach and reef setup like Emma Wood, can sometimes break a bit too straight. Still, the combined energy is strong, hitting 887 in the morning and 773 in the afternoon. The wind is light and onshore in the morning, but light and onshore again in the arvo. It’s not clean, glassy surf, but this is the most energy we’ve seen all outlook. The swell direction from the S is a decent match for the optimum SW direction.

After that, it fades fast. Tuesday the 21st sees the swell drop back to 3ft, and from Wednesday the 22nd on, we’re back to tiny, weak waves under 2ft.

Given the long period and the beach/reef nature of Emma Wood, the better shaped waves might be hard to find here. For a standout, the Monday the 20th is your best bet, but it’s not a classic day. It’s more of a “get wet and see what happens” kind of session. The water is a touch warmer than usual, but the swell direction and light onshore winds mean it won’t be perfect.

This is a patch where you’d be waiting for a proper pulse to come through. The setup is more consistent than others, so it tends not to stay this poor forever, but for the next week and a bit, you’re mostly better off doing something else.

Rusty.

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