56th St Surf Forecast and Surf Report

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

Right off the bat, I’ll be straight with you – the next 16 days are a tough sit for 56th St. There’s surf on the horizon, but it’s rarely going to be clean. The first decent chance doesn’t show up until the morning of Thursday, the 23rd of July. The water is sitting at 71° – that’s much warmer than usual for this time of year, a full 5° above normal, so at least you won’t need a thick suit.

The whole period is plagued by cross-onshore or onshore winds and weak, short-period swell. The combined energy of all swells directed here is mostly moderate, with values between 100 and 999 (for example, 475 on Thursday morning), but it’s nothing to get excited about. The swell direction is mostly from the S or SW, which is fine for this sheltered spot, but the quality is just not there.

The best of a bad bunch looks like the morning of Thursday, the 23rd of July. We’ve got a 3ft S swell with a period of 12 seconds – that’s a bit of groundswell, but it’s small. The wind is light cross-on from the WSW at 6 mph, which will put some bump on the surface. It’s a marginal call, but it’s the only session that scores anything at all. It’s not a standout, just the least bad option.

After that, it’s a long, grim run. Friday the 24th through to the end of the month is mostly poor surf conditions with onshore winds. The swell is tiny, mostly under 3ft, with periods all over the shop. The energy is moderate, but the wind is always messing it up. There’s a tiny glimmer on the morning of Friday, the 31st of July, when a 4ft SSE swell with a 16-second period rolls in and the combined energy jumps to 1004 (strong wave energy). The wind is light onshore, but the swell is coming from the SSE, which is off the optimum direction for this break. The period is long, which means it might be a bit too straight for a beach break, but it’s the only time the energy gets strong. Still, it’s marginal.

The first week of August is a write-off. Swell drops to 3ft or less, periods are short, and winds are cross-on or onshore. By the 4th of August, the swell is barely 1ft with a combined energy of only 148 (weak). The last few days of the forecast are just flat, weak, and choppy.

Realistically, this is a classic case of a spot that’s not firing. The winds are mostly wrong, the swell is small, and the consistency is low. If you’re a kiter, the cross-on winds on some of the bigger days might be interesting, but for a surfer, it’s a tough stretch. Don’t hold your breath, but forecasts can change.

Rusty.

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