Emma Wood State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee and listen up. Rusty here, and I’ve gotta be straight with you – the next 16 days are looking flat and frustrating. I don’t like it any more than you do, but the numbers don’t lie.

We’re looking at a stretch of tiny, weak swell and onshore or cross-onshore winds pretty much the whole way through. The only spot that even popped up is Emma Wood State Beach, a beginner-friendly beach and reef setup that’s fairly exposed to the SW. But honestly, for this whole run, the waves are just not doing anything. From right now all the way to the end of August, every single session is rated as poor. We’re talking swell heights sitting between 0.3m and 0.7m, which is about 1 to 2 feet, with combined wave energy (85 to 246) that’s only barely moderate on a good day, and mostly just weak. The swell period is long, between 8 and 19 seconds, but with that little height, a long period groundswell just means you’ll be sitting there watching the ocean barely move.

On the 12th of August, it kicks off with a 0.4m (1 ft) SW swell and a 16-second period, but the onshore wind makes it messy. The water temperature is a notable 22°, which is a massive 4° warmer than usual – much warmer than normal for this time of year. That’s something to paddle in, at least. But the surf? Poor.

The pattern doesn’t change. Thursday the 13th through to Monday the 24th of August is just a blur of small SW and SSW swells, never breaking 0.7m (2 ft), with wind mostly coming from the WSW or SW, either on or cross-on. A few mornings have light breezes, but the swell is so weak it’s not worth paddling out. The energy dips as low as 85, and on the 22nd of August, we get a short-period 9-second W swell at 0.5m (2 ft), but the wind is cross-on again. The whole first week is a wipeout.

We get a glimmer of something on the 23rd and 24th of August with a 0.3m (1.0 ft) SW swell and a very long 18-19 second period, but the wind is still cross-on or on. The energy is a bit higher (111 to 131), but the waves are just too small and poorly shaped.

The second week is more of the same. From the 25th to the 27th of August, the swell stays at 0.4m to 0.6m (1 to 2 ft), the wind is still from the SW or W, and the energy stays weak to moderate at best (105 to 234). Every session is noted as “poor surf conditions.”

There is no standout here. Nothing is worth paddling for. If you’re a kite surfer, look elsewhere too – the swell is too weak for that as well. This is a total blank run. Don’t hang your wetsuit up for good, though – this area can turn around quickly; it just doesn’t look promising now.

Stay tuned, check back in a week. Forecasts can change.

Rusty.

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