48th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s talk about 48th Street. This is a beach and jetty setup, exposed and pretty consistent, but we’ve got a long stretch of meh ahead. The water’s running at 79° right now – that’s 6° warmer than usual for July, so you’ll be sweating in your wetsuit if you’re wearing one. But the waves, man, they’re just not there for the most part.

From now through the middle of the month it’s mostly tiny, choppy, onshore junk. There’s a brief window on Friday the 10th morning with a little 2ft SSE swell and a light offshore from the WNW – that’s clean but barely knee-high. You could get a few grovelly ones, but honestly it’s not worth paddling out for unless you’re desperate. Same story on the 14th and 15th: glassy or clean, but the swell is tiny (2ft, 2ft) and short-period. The energy stays weak (under 100 most days). Crowds can be a thing here often, but with conditions this ordinary, you’ll probably have the place to yourself.

The real standout comes on Sunday morning the 19th. That’s a full two weeks out, so keep an eye on the forecasts, but right now it’s looking like the best slab of the whole outlook. We get a 7ft S swell, light WSW cross-off wind, clean faces, and combined energy jumping to 363 – that’s moderate-strong. The period is only 7 seconds, so it’s short-period windswell, not groundswell, but the size and wind combo should give you some fun, punchy waves at the jetty. It might be a bit much for beginners – over 5ft – but intermediates who know the peak will be fine. Afternoon drops to 5ft with a bit more wind, still clean but a touch messier.

After that, Monday the 20th sees the swell easing to 4ft with clean conditions again, but the energy drops to 165. Worth a session if you’re around, but nothing special. The rest of the period fades back to tiny or onshore slop.

So to sum it up: you’ve got a big flat spell, then a little taste of something decent on the 10th, but the one to circle on the calendar is Sunday July 19th. That’s the only day I’d really get excited about. The rest… bring a book.

– Rusty

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