Emma Wood State Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let's have a hard look at what's coming down the pike for our little stretch of coast. We're talking Emma Wood State Beach, a beach and reef setup that's usually pretty exposed to the swell.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you—this isn't a pretty picture. The water's sitting at a warm 70°, which is a massive 7° warmer than normal for this time of year. That's weird, and you'll feel it, but it's not gonna make the surf any better.

The problem is, we're looking at a long, dry spell. For the first week, from Tuesday the 18th right through to Sunday the 23rd of August, it's basically a flat, choppy mess. We're talking tiny little waves, all under 2 ft, coming from the SSW with a long period of 15–16 seconds. That's a long-period groundswell, which would normally mean some proper lines, but here the energy is pathetic—it's reading weak, with numbers like 74 and 96 in the combined energy. The wind is constantly coming from the WSW, putting us in a cross-on or onshore position, which just chops everything up. The forecast is calling it "poor surf conditions" across the board, and I'm not gonna sugarcoat it. There's nothing to surf. If you're a kitesurfer, maybe you could get a skid in on the stronger afternoon breezes, but for a paddle surfer? Forget it.

We roll into the next week, and things don't improve for a long time. Monday the 24th, Tuesday the 25th, Wednesday the 26th, Thursday the 27th—it's the same story. Tiny, weak swell. On the 25th, we see a jump in the combined swell energy to around 211, but that's from a short, choppy 5-second period windswell. The wave height briefly touches 4 ft in the afternoon, but with a WSW breeze blowing cross-on at 9 mph, it's just gonna be a bumpy, closeout mess. No quality there.

We finally see a bit of a pulse on Saturday the 29th of August. The morning brings a 2 ft swell from the SSW, period 16 seconds, and the combined energy climbs into the moderate range (237). The wind is light and onshore from the WSW at 6 mph. It's a start, and the energy is there, but the guidance still calls it "poor surf conditions." It's inconsistent and weak for the size. This continues into Sunday the 30th and Monday the 31st, with similar readings but still nothing that breaks into the "good" category. The crowd profile here says it's "often" busy, so even if a tiny clean-up set came through, you'd be fighting for scraps.

Honestly, mates, through the entire 16-day window, from the 18th of August all the way to the 2nd of September, there isn't a single standout day. The waves never get over 4 ft, the wind is never favorable, and the quality is consistently marked as poor. This is a long, bleak run. For an area that's "fairly consistent," this is a rough patch. It's the kind of forecast where you check your gear, wax your board, and wait for the next model run. The blank run is real this time.

Signing off, Rusty.

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