48th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright crew, Rusty here with the lowdown on 48th Street. It’s a slow start, so we’re gonna be patient.

We’re looking at a few days of doldrums. Through Sunday the 20th into Monday the 22nd, the waves are ankle to knee high, mostly 2 ft to 2 ft with a short, weak period of 7 seconds. The wind is side-on or onshore, making it choppy and messy. The energy is weak, running 32 to 60 – not enough to get the heart pumping. Water temp is a touch warmer than normal at 79°, but that’s small comfort when there’s no surf.

The one real standout hits on the morning of Wednesday the 22nd. This is the session. We’ve got a clean 8 ft swell out of the south with an 8-second period. The wind is offshore from the west at 12 mph, cleaning the lines up perfectly. The combined energy is a strong 1136, so there’s plenty of grunt. This is excellent surf, but at 8 ft, it’s strictly for the experts – beginners and intermediates should stay on the beach. The 48th Street jetty should handle the S swell well, and with that offshore wind, it’ll be a proper morning. The afternoon drops off to a smaller 4 ft SSE swell with a side-offshore wind, but the morning is the clear winner.

After Wednesday, the rest of the week and into the weekend is a write-off. Swell drops to 2 ft to 5 ft, but the wind turns side-on from the NE or ENE, making it choppy and poor. The energy stays low, mostly under 200. The crowd factor is a thing – 48th Street is “often” crowded, but with this poor quality, it’ll be empty.

The next flicker shows up on the morning of Sunday the 26th. It’s glassy – wind from the NW at only 3 mph – with a small 3 ft SE swell. The period is a short 8 seconds, so it’s not a groundswell, but glassy conditions with any wave is a treat. It’s a “surfable but ordinary” kind of day, with energy at just 62.

We hit another rough patch from the 27th through the end of the month. The swell is tiny, mostly 2 ft to 2 ft, with strong, lumpy cross-shore winds. The 30th and 31st offer a little clean-up with light offshore winds, but the swell is still too small and weak (19 to 116 energy) to be worth a paddle.

The outlook gets a little pulse on the 3rd of August. The morning brings a 4 ft SSE swell with a clean, side-offshore wind from the SSW at 12 mph. The combined energy is 166 – moderate, but still not a standout. The period is a short 7 seconds, so the waves will be a bit sectiony. It’s a step up from the flat spell, but it’s not the big day from the 22nd.

Overall, the week is a drought with one golden morning on the 22nd. If you’re keen, that Wednesday morning is your target. The rest is a waiting game.

Rusty.

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