56th St Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you. Looking at the next couple of weeks for 56th St, it’s a pretty quiet stretch. The swell is coming in from the SSW, but it’s small and the wind is rarely playing ball, keeping things mostly choppy or onshore. It’s not going to be a total blank, but you’ll be working for anything decent.

Right from the start, Saturday the 8th of August, we’ve got a tiny 2ft SSW swell rolling in with a long 17-second period. That groundswell has some push to it (combined energy of 284), but the cross-on westerly wind is making a mess of it. The water is a very unusual 73°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year. Don’t bother paddling out; it’s just poor.

Sunday the 9th and Monday the 10th are much the same story. The swell bumps up slightly to 3ft on Sunday, but the wind is either cross-on or onshore from the SW and SSW, keeping things messy. The period drops a bit, but we’re still seeing light cross-onshore wind ripples. Nothing to get excited about.

The whole first week is a grind. From Tuesday the 11th through Thursday the 13th of August, the swell stays between 2ft and 2ft. The wind is mostly light and onshore or cross-on, with the combined energy dropping into the low to mid 200s. It’s just poor conditions, day after day. The only real shift comes on Friday the 14th of August. The morning shows a slight improvement: still small at 2ft from the SW with a 15-second period, but the wind drops to almost nothing (3 mph from the SW). The combined energy jumps to 435. It’s still listed as marginal, so don't expect magic, but that morning glass might give you a few fun little ones if you're desperate.

Saturday the 15th of August morning is the closest we get to a standout. The swell is 3ft from the SSW, 16-second period, and the combined energy hits 505. The wind is cross-shore from the west at 9 mph, which is the best wind we see in the whole run. It’s still only a 1 out of 10, but if there's a window, this is it. The afternoon turns choppy again, so make the morning call.

After that, from Sunday the 16th of August right through to the end of the run on the 23rd of August, it’s a long, flat, windy grind. The swell sticks between 2ft and 3ft, the wind is either onshore or cross-onshore, and the combined energy drops back into the 200s and low 300s. The periods stay around 13 to 16 seconds, but with the constant onshore chop, it’s not worth the paddle. This is a blank run that’s pretty normal for the area when the wind doesn’t cooperate.

Keep an eye on Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th of August mornings. They’re your best, and only, real shots at a salvageable session. Otherwise, leave the board in the car.

Rusty.

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