Emma Wood State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, it’s Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it. Emma Wood State Beach is the only spot on the menu for the next 16 days, and I gotta be honest with you – it’s looking pretty grim. We’ve got a long stretch of poor surf ahead, with no real standout days to get excited about. The forecast is basically a flat, choppy mess for the first week, and even when we get a little bump in size, the conditions just aren’t cooperating.

The water is a balmy 70°F right now, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s over 5°F warmer than average, so it’s a real anomaly. Might be nice for a swim, but it won’t help the waves.

We start with a tiny bit of hope on Saturday morning, September 5th. There’s a 2ft SSW groundswell with a long 16-second period, but the wind is cross-on from the SSW at 6 mph, creating small wind ripples. The combined wave energy is weak (367), and it’s just not enough to get excited about. The whole first week is plagued by poor surf conditions and marginal surf at best, with light onshore winds and choppy water. Sunday morning September 6th offers a slightly bigger 3ft S swell, but the wind is still cross-on and the conditions are just poor.

The middle of the week from September 7th to 11th is a total write-off – all poor surf conditions, flat to tiny waves, and messy wind. The swell direction swings around, but the period drops and the energy stays weak. On Friday afternoon September 11th, there’s a short-period 5ft W swell, but it’s a 6-second windswell, which is just junk. The energy is moderate (360), but the quality is terrible.

The weekend of September 12th and 13th sees a bit of a pulse – Saturday morning September 12th has a 4ft WNW swell, but again, it’s a short 6-second period. The wind is light and onshore, so it’s marginal at best. The combined energy is moderate (281), but the shape will be poor. Sunday September 13th drops back to 3ft, and the cross-on wind returns.

From there, it’s all downhill. From September 14th right through to September 20th, the surf is consistently tiny – 1.0ft to 2ft – with weak energy (under 250) and persistent cross-on or onshore winds. The swell period occasionally gets long (16-19 seconds), but the size is so small that it’s not worth paddling out for. The combined energy drops to weak (99) by Tuesday afternoon September 15th.

Honestly, for this entire 16-day window, there’s not a single session I’d recommend. The setup is a beach and reef, which could be interesting for kitesurfing if the wind picks up, but for paddle surfing, it’s a bust. The lack of consistent, quality swell and the persistent cross-on winds mean you’re better off keeping the board in the car. The good news is, it tends not to stay this poor for long, and forecasts can change. But for now, Rusty says: don’t bother.

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