56th St Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be real with you: the next couple of weeks are looking pretty bleak for any kind of proper surf. We’ve got a run of small, weak pulses and a lot of onshore breeze messing things up. It’s going to be a waiting game, so don’t get your hopes up for anything epic.

Right now, and for the next several days, we’re looking at tiny waves. We're talking ankle-biters in the 1.5 to 3 ft range from a long-period SW groundswell, but the energy is weak. The combined swell energy is reading between 158 and 497, which is on the lower end of moderate at best. The real problem is that the wind is mostly cross-shore or onshore, leaving the ocean with a chop and making it feel pretty poor. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing weird going on there. There are a few fun-looking long period swells, but they’re just too weak to make anything of it.

The first real sign of life doesn't show up until Wednesday the 16th, early morning. There's a slight bump in size to 2.5 ft from the SSW, and the energy climbs a bit, but it’s still rated as marginal. The wind is light and straight onshore, so you'll be dealing with a bit of texture, but it might be the best of a bad week.

Then, on the morning of Thursday the 17th, we get our one true standout. The wind drops out completely, leaving the ocean glassy. The swell holds at 2 ft from the SSW, but that clean, smooth surface makes a huge difference. It’s the only time in this stretch you'll see truly clean surf. 56th St is a sheltered spot, and it's very consistent, so even at this size, it’ll be your best bet for getting a few knee to waist-high waves without getting chopped to pieces. The crowd might be there, but for such a clean, glassy window, it'll be worth it.

After that, we slide back into the poor-to-marginal zone. The following week is more of the same: weak SW swell, light cross-onshore breezes, and a lot of small, messy waves. The energy does climb back up around 470 on the 20th, but the wind comes up too, making it choppy. Further out, around the 21st and 22nd, there are a few 3 ft SW pulses, but the winds are still messing things up. The 24th is the end of our forecast window and it looks similar to what we're seeing now.

The bottom line is that the first week is a write-off. The mornings are likely to be better than the afternoons if you're desperate for a splash. Most of this is for more experienced folks on bigger boards, as it's small and weak. The only real window to get excited about is that glassy morning on the 17th. A promising but short-lived bit of hope. With this spot being very consistent, it tends not to stay this poor for long, so I'd say we're due for a change.

Keep the faith, and I'll be watching the charts.

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