56th St Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.

It’s a tale of two weeks for us. The first few days are a write-off, but if you hang tight, there’s a proper window of clean surf coming up that’s worth waking up early for.

We’re looking at 56th St for the whole run. The water is running at 75° right now, which is 4° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s really unusual, so you’ll be in for a pleasant surprise when you hit the water. It’s a sheltered spot, best with a SW swell.

Don’t bother paddling out Thursday the 4th or Friday the 5th. The wind is cross-on and the surf is small, in the 3ft range, with poor conditions. The combined energy is weak to moderate (652 to 997), and the forecasts are calling it poor. It’s a total scrub.

The first real sign of life comes on Sunday the 6th. We’ve got a jump in swell to 5ft to 6ft from the S, with a period of 14 seconds. That’s a solid groundswell. The wind goes light and cross-off, which will clean it right up. The combined energy is strong (1111 to 1141) and the conditions are rated as very good. This is the standout of the forecast. It’s not too big for intermediates, but there’s enough push to get stoked. The long period means it’ll have proper shape, but at a beach break, expect it to be a bit straighter. Crowds are possible here, so get in early.

Monday the 7th keeps the size up at 6ft to 6ft from the SSW, but the wind goes cross-shore and starts to get a bit stronger, especially in the afternoon with a 12 mph breeze. The energy is very strong (1224 to 1347), but the texture will have a slight chop. It’s still surfable, but not as clean as Sunday.

From Tuesday the 8th onward, it’s a slow fade. Swell sizes drop from 5ft down to 1ft by the 17th, and the wind is mostly cross-on or onshore. The combined energy drops from moderate (814) down to weak (140). The one tiny glimmer is on Saturday the 19th afternoon, where the wind goes cross-off and the conditions are rated as good, but the swell is only 3ft from the SW with a very long period of 18 seconds. That’s a long period groundswell, which can be tricky at a beach break, but if you’ve got a log, it might be worth a look.

So, there’s a big gap of poor surf from the 8th all the way to the 19th. That’s nearly two weeks of waiting. The only true standout is Sunday the 6th. If you can only surf once, that’s your day.

Rusty

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