Empty Lots Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’m looking at the outlook for Empty Lots over the next couple of weeks. I gotta be straight with you—it’s a rough run. This is a reef setup, exposed to the swell, but the wind is a killer. It’s almost always coming from the ENE, ripping straight across the place, keeping everything messy and lumpy. For the first two weeks, the surf is just a write-off. We’re talking poor surf day after poor surf day, with a cross-chop that’ll rattle your teeth. There’s a long gap here with nothing worth paddling out for.

The only light at the end of the tunnel comes late in the forecast. Thursday afternoon, August 20th, the wind finally drops. It goes glassy—a light N wind at 3 mph—and the ocean cleans right up. The swell is small, only 2 ft, but it’s coming from the SW with a very long period of 21 seconds. That’s a proper groundswell, and for a reef like Empty Lots, it could offer up some clean, lined-up waves. The combined energy is moderate (591), but don’t let the size fool you—that period will push some juice. It’s the standout moment of the whole outlook.

Then Friday afternoon, August 21st, we get another glassy window. The wind is light from the SE at 3 mph, the swell is 2 ft from the SW with an 18-second period, and the energy is a bit stronger (734). It’s not big, but it’ll be the cleanest surf of the whole stretch. If you’re desperate for a slide, that’s your window.

For the rest of it, the ENE wind just doesn’t let up. The swell gets bigger, hitting over 8 ft on August 16th, but with that strong cross-shore wind, it’s just a washing machine. That’s more of a kite-surfing setup than a paddle session. The whole first half of the outlook is a write-off, so don’t bother checking until that August 20th.

This is Rusty, signing off.

Read more