Emma Wood State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.

Honestly, for the next couple weeks, it’s a bit of a flat spell for Emma Wood State Beach (Ventura). We’ve got a long stretch of small, poor-quality surf stretching from the 19th of August right through until the morning of the 29th. That’s over a week of tiny, weak waves, mostly around 1.0 ft to 2 ft with a long period groundswell that’s just not packing any punch for this spot. The combined swell energy is mostly weak to moderate – you’ll see readings like 61 and 167 in there – and the cross-onshore wind from the WSW keeps things choppy or with small wind ripples. Not much to get excited about. The water temp anomaly is sitting in the average zone, nothing unusual for this time of year.

Now, the first real glimmer comes on the morning of Saturday the 29th of August. It’s still marginal – we’re just barely breaking into the “maybe” zone with a 1/10 score – but the swell does wake up. You’ve got a clean 2 ft swell from the SSW at 17 seconds, and the combined energy jumps to 311, which is moderate. That long-period groundswell could offer a few longer lines, but at this size and with the reef-and-beach setup, it’s for the patient surfer. The wind is light and onshore, so it’s not glassy, but it’s not a complete write-off.

The real standout, the closest thing to a highlight in this whole outlook, is the morning of Monday the 31st of August. The swell kicks up to 5 ft from the WNW, with a short period of just 6 seconds. That’s a steep, close-interval wind swell. The energy reading is 268, which is moderate, but this is a beach and reef break, so that short period wind swell can get dumpy and won’t hold a good shape. It’s clean conditions with a light onshore, but that size (5 ft) is right on the edge for beginners. It’s okay, but nothing special.

After that, into the first days of September, it fades back to small, weak conditions with swell around 1 ft to 3 ft and combined energy staying under 260. The wind stays mostly onshore, with a little bit of cross-onshore in the afternoons. Nothing worth a special trip.

So, the bottom line: there’s no true standout here. The best chance to paddle out is probably the morning of August 31st for the biggest, albeit short-period, swell. But if you’re looking for clean, quality waves with offshore winds, you’re going to be waiting a while. The first half of the outlook is a wash, and the second week offers only small, marginal surf.

Rusty.

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