57th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s on offer for the next couple of weeks at 57th Street.

Honestly, this is one of those stretches where you might want to leave the board in the car for a while. For the next week and a half, we’ve got tiny, weak, short-period swell and mostly poor surf conditions. The waves stay between 0.7ft and 3ft the whole time, with energy readings barely cracking 100 – mostly in the teens and twenties, which is just weak energy. The water’s a touch warmer than normal at 77°, about 3° above the usual for this time of year, so it’s comfortable to sit out there, but you won’t be catching much.

From Monday 17th right through to Sunday 24th, it’s a near-total write-off. Sloppy cross-shore winds, onshore breezes, and the odd thunderstorm risk. Even the glassy conditions on Sunday 23rd afternoon only have 0.7ft swell – you’d be bobbing, not surfing.

The first real glimpse of something half decent comes on Monday 24th morning. The wind shifts to a light offshore from the NNW at 3 mph, and the 2ft swell from the SSE with a 6-second period is enough for a few small, clean lines. The energy is only 56, but it’s clean. Still, nothing to write home about.

Things perk up a tiny bit toward the end of the month. On Thursday 27th, we get a moderate cross-offshore wind from the WSW, 9-12 mph, with 2ft swell from the SE and a 12-second period – that’s a bit of groundswell energy, with a reading of 170, the highest we’ll see all forecast. The waves will have more shape and longer gaps between sets. Still small, but for the sandbar setup at 57th Street, it’ll be surfable.

Then Friday 28th morning offers the best call of the whole outlook. A clean offshore wind from the NW at 9 mph, with 2ft swell from the SE at 10 seconds – moderate wave energy (92). It’s clean, the wind is off, and the period is long enough to hold the little bumps together. For a beginner-friendly sandbar with fairly consistent breaks, that Friday morning (28th) is your standout. Crowds are possible here at times, but on a Friday with small swell, it shouldn’t be too bad.

After that, it fades again into tiny, choppy cross-shore slop through to Tuesday 1st September. Nothing else worth chasing.

So the pick of the very ordinary bunch is Friday 28th August morning – the only time you’ll find a little clean, surfable wave with a proper offshore wind. Don’t expect any barrels, but you’ll get a few rides.

Rusty

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