48th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let's be real. The surf over the next couple of weeks is a total washout. We're staring down a long stretch of tiny, junky waves. The first possible glimmer is Sunday the 13th, but it's a long way off and nothing special. Before that, it's a barren wasteland of flat, messy conditions. Honestly, you might as well take up golf for the week.

So, the first thing that even resembles a wave is Sunday morning the 13th. 48th Street (Fortyeighth-Street) will have a wave around 3ft, but it's coming from the SSE with a weak, short 5-second period. The energy is weak at 74. It's got a clean cross-offshore wind, but it just doesn't have any push. Sunday afternoon drops to 3ft and loses even more energy. It's surfable, but barely. The water is a crazy 78°, which is 5° warmer than usual – that's really unusual, like a hot tub.

Then we drop back into the slop for a few days. Monday and Tuesday are back to poor, onshore junk. Then on Wednesday the 16th, we get a glassy 3ft wave in the morning. The wind is dead and the surface will be clean, but the swell is still a short-period S pulse with weak energy at 61. It's a tease.

More poor, choppy days follow until Saturday the 19th. That morning, it goes glassy again with a 3ft wave from the NNE. It's the cleanest conditions so far, but the energy is weak at 67, and the period is a tiny 5 seconds. It'll be soft and weak, but at least it won't be bumpy.

The standout, and really the only promising day in this whole outlook, is the morning of Tuesday the 22nd. We get another glassy start, and the swell bumps up to 3ft from the ESE with a period of 8 seconds. The energy is the highest we've seen at 92. It's not big, but it's the most organized swell of the forecast, and with the wind completely off, 48th Street might have a handful of fun, workable waves. This is your window.

After that Tuesday morning, the wind swings around and we're back to the usual poor, cross-shore chop for the rest of the outlook. The long-range stuff out to the 24th is not worth talking about.

The bottom line is a serious lack of swell. The energy numbers are weak to low-moderate throughout. If you're jonesing for a paddle, Wednesday the 16th or Saturday the 19th mornings might have clean, empty water, but for actual waves, Tuesday the 22nd looks like the only real chance. It's over a week away, so don't set your alarm yet, but it's the one to watch.

Stay patient, keep an eye on the charts, and let's hope something changes.

Rusty

Read more