Empty Lots Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your board and listen up. It's Rusty here, and I've been staring at the charts for Empty Lots, and I've got to be straight with you: it's a bit of a rough stretch for a while.

We're looking at a long, flat, and messy start. For the first week or so, the wind is locked in from the ENE, blowing straight across the break, so the surface is going to be chopped up and lumpy. The swell is weak and all over the place in direction, with a lot of it coming from the E or ENE, which is pretty much sideways. The wave energy is generally moderate (210) early on, but the quality is just junk. There's a weak 1ft to 2ft swell on Friday and Saturday, but the cross-shore wind kills it. The 2ft on Sunday afternoon kicks the energy up a bit (572), but it's still a cross-chop mess. Monday and Tuesday don't get much better, with more energy (421-525) but a persistent fresh cross-shore breeze. The water temp is a warm 81°, which is about normal for this time of year, so at least you won't be cold while you're getting skunked.

Now, as we push into the middle of next week, things get a little more interesting. On Wednesday the 12th, the swell starts to organize from the S with a longer period of 18 seconds, and the energy jumps into the strong range (1028). The problem remains that damn ENE wind. By Thursday the 13th, the wind is up to 22 mph, the swell is a solid 4ft, but it's all for nothing because it’s so messy. This is a case where the ocean has all that power but the conditions are just too blown out for a paddleboard. Honestly, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than for us, especially on the 16th when the ENE wind hits 25 mph and we've got a 6ft E swell. The energy is very strong (1196), but you'd be a madman to take a drop in that.

The standout window, and I mean the only real highlight in this whole 16 days, is around the 20th and 21st of August. The wind finally dies. On the 19th, the ESE wind fades by the afternoon to a dead flat calm, and we get glassy conditions. The swell is small, only 2ft, but it's clean. But it's Thursday the 20th afternoon that looks the best. We've got a glassy sea, a 3ft SW swell with a period of 19 seconds, and the combined energy is strong (796). That's a proper, clean, long-period groundswell. Empty Lots is a reef, so this long-period swell will make it break properly. It’s not big, but it will be perfect. Friday morning the 21st has a light offshore, but it's Friday afternoon where it's dead glassy (0 mph wind) with the same 3ft SW swell. That's your pick. The period then drops back and the ENE wind returns on the 22nd, but for those two afternoons, it's as good as it gets.

This break is "fairly consistent," so it’s not like it never works, but it’s clearly picky about wind. For a while, we just have to wait out the cross-shore. It tends not to stay poor for long, and forecasts can change, but the 20th and 21st are the ones to circle on the calendar. Keep an eye on that forecast though, long-range calls are promising but less certain.

Stay stoked.
Rusty.

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