55th Street Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim for a proper surf. We’ve got a long stretch of small, weak, and blown-out conditions ahead. It’s one of those times where you might be better off finding something else to do, because there’s just no real push in the water. This isn't a quick dry spell either; we're looking at a solid run of days with nothing worth paddling out for.

Things start off this Friday the 11th with a tiny 1ft of swell out of the southeast. The water is a balmy 77°, which is a very unusual 6° warmer than normal for this time of year. You’ll want the boardshorts, that’s for sure. But the waves are just poor, no energy behind them at all (21). Saturday and Sunday don’t offer any hope either, with even smaller, wind-chopped waves. The wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore out of the southeast, just making a mess of things. There’s a brief moment Sunday afternoon with light offshore west wind and the swell period stretches to 10 seconds, but the swell itself is only 1ft. There’s just nothing to ride.

The start of next week continues the trend. Monday sees a bit of side-shore wind and tiny, weak surf. The swell direction is stuck in the southeast, but the period is too short to do anything. Tuesday the wind picks up from the northeast, cross-onshore and choppy, with a meager 3ft of swell (63). By Wednesday and Thursday we’re back to knee-high dribble, mostly 2ft, with the period still in that short, weak range. We aren't seeing any real groundswell here.

The weekend of the 19th and 20th brings the first hint of more energy, but it's not good energy. The wind is howling onshore from the east-northeast, and the swell stays small and lumpy. Sunday the 20th does see the swell push up to 4ft (252), which is the biggest we’ve seen, but it's accompanied by that onshore wind in the morning and then turning cross-onshore and choppy in the afternoon.

The final week is just a write-off. From the 21st through the 26th, we’re looking at a relentless stretch of strong onshore winds, building from 22 mph up to a near gale of 31 mph by the 22nd. The swell is there, hovering between 3ft and 4ft, and the energy starts to build (up to 161), but it's completely unsurfable. On the 22nd and 23rd it’s just blown to bits with a cross-onshore mess. This setup looks a lot more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. If you have a kite, go for it, but for a surfboard, you’re just getting sand in your eyes.

Bottom line: There are no good surf options in this 16-day window. It’s a long, blank run. Keep the board in the car, but don’t get too down—forecasts can change, and it tends not to stay this poor for too long. We’ll be watching for a shift in that wind.

Rusty.

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