56th St Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a good, hard look at what the next couple of weeks are serving up for your local stretch. I've got to be straight with you – this is a tough one. We've got a solid, consistent swell window, but the conditions are fighting us every step of the way. The water is sitting at a very unusual 74°F which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least you won't need a thick wetsuit.

We start on Monday, September 7th, and honestly, it’s a bit of a tease. There's a decent groundswell running, 5ft from the SSW with a long 13-second period, giving us moderate wave energy (962). The morning shows some promise with a light cross-shore breeze, but the wave comment is already calling it marginal. By the afternoon, that wind picks up to 12 mph and messes it right up. The rest of that first week is more of the same – the swell drops off quick, and we're stuck with cross-onshore or onshore winds day after day. The heights tumble down to the 2ft to 3ft range, and the wave quality is just poor. Thursday the 10th keeps things marginal, but it's small. Friday the 11th through Sunday the 13th is a write-off with tiny, choppy surf.

Then we hit a long, flat spell. From around Monday the 14th all the way through to Saturday the 19th of September, it's just ankle-biters. We're talking 1ft to 2ft waves with onshore wind. There's nothing to get excited about. The combined energy figures are all below 500, which is just weak. You'd be better off doing something else. The only faint glimmer in that whole stretch is on Saturday the 19th morning, where the height nudges up to 2ft with a long 18-second period and a light cross-onshore breeze – it's still marginal, but it's the closest thing to a window.

The pattern finally tries to shift around Monday the 21st of September. We get a slight bump in swell, up to 3ft and 3ft from the SW with periods around 17-18 seconds, and the wave energy climbs back into the mid-400s. But again, the wind is cross-onshore all day. Tuesday the 22nd is the same story – a little bit of size, but the wind keeps it from being any good.

The Standout
If there's one session that's worth the gamble, it's the Monday morning, September 7th, at 56th St. It's the only time in the entire 16-day window where we have a solid 5ft SSW groundswell with a good 13-second period and light morning winds. The wave energy (962) is the highest we'll see the whole forecast. Yes, the crowd can show up there sometimes, but with the conditions turning sour in the afternoon, the early birds will be the ones who might score a half-decent wave. After that, it's mostly a waiting game for a proper clean-up.

Unfortunately, for the vast majority of this 16-day forecast, the setup is more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. The winds are too strong and too onshore for the size we're getting.

Rusty.

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