48th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – the outlook for the next couple of weeks is a bit of a bust. We’ve got a long stretch of poor surf conditions ahead, so don’t be in a rush to grab your board.

Looking at the whole picture, this is a flat spell more than anything. The first real chance of anything worth paddling out for doesn’t show up until late in the second week. The combined wave energy for the first ten days is almost exclusively in the weak range, often below 50 (weak energy), which is a real bummer. The wind is mostly cross-off or cross-shore, but with such tiny swell, it doesn’t matter.

The only spot we’ve got on the radar is 48th Street (beach/jetty). The water temperature is sitting around 77°, which is 1° above the long-term average – so it’s about normal for this time of year, nothing to write home about.

For the first week, from Friday the 7th of August right through to Wednesday the 19th, the swell is tiny, mostly 1.0ft to 3ft from the south or southeast, with a short period of 4 to 9 seconds. The comment across the board is “poor surf conditions.” It’s just not happening. The combined energy is weak, generally between 9 and 70 (weak energy). The best wind we see is a glassy patch on the 13th, but with only 1.0ft of swell, it’s a non-event.

We finally get a bit of a pulse on Thursday the 20th of August. The morning sees a 2ft swell from the southeast with a 10-second period, and the combined energy climbs to 70 (weak energy) – still not great, but the best we’ve seen. The wave comment upgrades to “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” The wind is a gentle cross-off in the morning, keeping it clean. Then in the afternoon, it goes glassy with a 2ft, 10-second SE swell and the combined energy hits 86 (weak energy). This is the only real standout, but it’s still very small and weak. It’s a long way off, so keep an eye on it, but don’t get your hopes up too high.

After that, Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd slip back into poor conditions with weak, short-period swell and bumpy wind.

So, to sum it up: the first 12 days are a total write-off. The only flicker of hope is on the 20th of August, with small, clean waves at 48th Street. It’s not going to be a classic, but it’s the only game in town.

Rusty.

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