56th St Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Grab your board, but don't expect much—this stretch is a flat spell for 56th St. The water's sitting at a warm 73°F with a anomaly that's 7°F warmer than usual, which is a big deal for this time of year. That's about the only thing that's pumping.

Starting Monday afternoon the 3rd, we've got a weak 1ft SSW swell with a 13-second period, cross-on breeze from the WSW at 9 mph, and the energy reading is a weak 142. Surf quality is poor, and it's choppy. Not worth paddling out.

Tuesday the 4th stays flat—same 1ft SW swell, but a bit more period at 15 seconds. Energy drops to 131 in the morning, and the afternoon is cross-on with 9 mph wind. Still poor.

Wednesday the 5th brings a slight uptick in energy to 94–104, but the swell is still a dribbly 1ft with a 14-second period. Winds are light onshore from the SSW at 6 mph. Poor.

Thursday the 6th keeps the pattern: 2–2ft SSW swell, 13-second period, light on or cross-on wind. Energy bumps to 121–158 but the surf quality is still poor. It's a lake out there.

Friday the 7th sees the energy jump to 331 in the morning with a 19-second period, but the swell height is only 2ft. That long period groundswell is hitting a beach break that's sheltered, so the good energy just gets lost. Still poor.

Saturday the 8th: energy around 300, 2–2ft SSW swell, 16–17 seconds, but cross-on winds and poor surf quality. Not happening.

Sunday the 9th through Tuesday the 11th is more of the same—2–3ft swells, periods mostly in the 13–15 second range, and energy fluctuating between 178 and 300. Winds are light, but the surf is still poor.

Then from Wednesday the 12th onward, the swell direction shifts a bit more SSW and the periods get longer. Energy climbs to the 270–517 range by the 14th and 15th, with the biggest reading on Friday afternoon the 14th at 517 and a 2ft swell. But even then, the wave comment is "poor surf conditions"—the swell height just isn't there, and it's cross-on.

The 16th and 17th keep the energy in the 164–493 range, with 2–3ft SSW swells, but it's all still poor quality, mostly light cross-onshore wind and small ripples.

By the 18th, it's fading back to 1ft, 13–16 second periods, energy down to 138–162, and it's still poor.

Honestly, there's no standout in this 16-day window. The swell is consistently too small and the wind is never fully clean offshore. The only thing that could save it is if a bigger, better-direction swell shows up, but based on what we're seeing, you're better off keeping the board in the car.

Signing off—Rusty.

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