Fort Fisher Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s not sugarcoat it. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim for Fort Fisher. We've got a long stretch of tiny, weak, and messy surf on the menu. There's no energy to get the heart pumping.

For the first week, from August 8th through the 14th, it's a full write-off. We're talking ankle-biters from 0.3 ft to 2.6 ft, with most days showing weak combined wave energy (95, 55, 34, or even single digits). The swell is coming from the southeast, which isn't doing us any favors, and the period is short, mostly in the 6-8 second range. There might be a morning with a little offshore breeze, like on the 11th, but with waves that small, it's just not worth the paddle. You'd be scratching for anything with a pulse.

The weekend of the 16th and 17th sees things shift, but not for the better. A change to east winds brings a bit more energy, but it's onshore and messy. The swell on the 17th afternoon jumps to about 4 ft with a longer period, but it's going to be a junky, wind-blown mess. The energy levels are up around 693, but it's not going to be clean. Then, on the 18th, we see the biggest swell of the window, with waves pushing 5 to 5.6 ft, but the period drops off, and the onshore wind is still there. The energy is moderate (164 to 212), but with that wind and short period, it's going to be a washing machine. For a beach and reef setup like this, with that kind of wind and swell, it might look more like a kiteboarding session than a surfing one.

There’s a small window of cleaner conditions around the 19th and 20th with lighter winds, even a touch of offshore on the morning of the 20th. Swell is around 1.6 ft to 3 ft, but the energy is still weak-to-moderate and the period is mixed. It's longboard-able, but nothing special. The only glimmer of hope might be the afternoon of the 21st, where we see about 4 ft of swell from the east-northeast with a clean cross-off breeze. But, the period is only 5 seconds, so it's going to be soft and crumbly. That's the pick of a bad lot, to be sure.

The last few days, the 22nd and 23rd, look like we’re back to small, weak surf with fresh cross-onshore winds. All in all, it’s a long dry spell. I'd keep the board in the car, but maybe don't bother waxing it up just yet. A flat spell like this usually doesn't hang around forever, so let’s keep watching.

Water temp at Fort Fisher is 82.6°, which is just about normal for this time of year.

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