Empty Lots Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a good hard look at what’s coming our way for the next couple of weeks. Things start off a bit average, but there’s one window that could really deliver if the conditions play ball.

Right out of the gate, from Saturday the 25th of July through to Monday the 27th, it’s a tough watch. We’ve got a long-period, 18 to 19 second groundswell showing up, but the wind is a fresh cross-shore breeze howling at 19 to 22 mph. That’s making a mess of things. The swell is small – around 3 to 4 ft – but the real story is the water temp sitting at 80°, which is pretty much spot on for this time of year, so no surprises there. The combined swell energy is strong, reading over 1000, but with that wind, the surface is lumpy and choppy. It’s a pass for paddle surfing.

Now, Tuesday the 28th of July into Wednesday the 29th is where the hope is. Tuesday morning sees the swell building to 6 ft from the east, with a period of 13 seconds. The wind is a gentle cross-offshore breeze at only 9 mph, making for clean conditions. The combined energy jumps right up (1424). By Wednesday morning the 29th, we get a standout: 7 ft of east-northeast swell with a 11 second period, and a light offshore breeze from the west at 6 mph – this is the cleanest it gets. That’s your best bet for experienced surfers. Empty Lots is an exposed reef break, so it can handle that size, and with only 7 ft it’s pushing into expert territory. It’s fairly consistent and can get crowded sometimes, but if you get out there on Wednesday morning, you might just score.

The outlook goes pretty bleak after that. From the afternoon of Wednesday the 29th right through to the 9th of August, it’s largely poor or marginal. Winds crank up again into strong breezes, the swell period drops to short 6 to 8 seconds, and the energy levels are weak to moderate (145-989). There are a couple of clean windows on the 27th afternoon and the 9th afternoon, but the swell is either small or weak. For most of this stretch, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, with strong cross-shore winds and messy chop.

So to sum it up: the only real standout is Wednesday morning, July 29th. Get on it if you’re an experienced surfer looking for clean, solid waves. Everything else is a waiting game.

Rusty.

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