Empty Lots Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s get into it. We’re looking at a pretty grim stretch for Empty Lots, a reef break that’s fairly consistent but gets worked by a cross-shore wind that just won’t let up. The water temp is sitting at 82°, which is about 1° above average for this time of year, so nothing unusual there.

The whole 16-day outlook is a write-off, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. There’s a solid run of poor surf from the start, with the ENE wind howling at 18 to 25 mph and blowing cross-shore, leaving a lumpy cross-chop on the surface. The odd bit of swell pops up—like a 6 ft ENE swell on Tuesday, 1st September, with moderate wave energy (871) but it’s all messy. The wind is relentless. The only flicker of something slightly better shows up on the afternoon of Friday, 4th September, where the swell hits 6 ft from the ENE with a period of 11 seconds and the wind turns cross-offshore, giving clean lines. The combined energy is 979 (moderate). That’s the only timeslot with a marginal nod, but it’s a single afternoon, not a full day. Then from Saturday, 6th September, the wind cranks up to 25 mph or more, and the swell builds to 8 ft, 8 ft, even 10 ft by Tuesday, 8th September. That’s big enough for experienced surfers only, but the wind is still cross-shore and messy, so it’s just a lumpy, blown-out mess. The wave energy gets strong, hitting 2314 on the morning of the 8th, but it’s all for nothing with that wind.

The only other tiny window is the afternoon of Wednesday, 9th September, where the wind again goes cross-offshore, giving clean surf, with a 8 ft ENE swell and a period of 10 seconds, and very strong energy of 2888. That’s a standout for experts, but it’s just one afternoon. After that, it gets ugly again—Friday, 10th September brings a severe gale from the east at 53 mph, totally blowing it out. The last few days dwindle into tiny, weak swells with poor conditions.

So, if you’re desperate, you’ve got two afternoons—Friday, 4th September and Wednesday, 9th September—with clean conditions for a paddle. The rest is a no-go. For beginners, anything over 5 ft is too much, and the 8 ft-plus days are for experts only. The long period swells (15-18 seconds) that show up are better suited to a point or reef, but here at Empty Lots, it’s just not coming together. Honestly, this looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer, given the strong cross-shore winds.

Rusty

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