48th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let’s be straight with you – the next two weeks are shaping up as a real struggle along this stretch. For a spot that’s normally got a bit of life, we’re looking at a long, flat spell. The first proper surf recommendation doesn’t show up until Sunday the 20th of September, so we’re talking a gap of over a week with nothing worth getting wet for.

From Tuesday the 8th right through to Saturday the 19th, it’s poor surf conditions all the way. Tiny swell, messy wind, and just nothing to get excited about. You’ll see small bumps of around 0.6 ft to 3 ft but the wind is all over the place – cross, cross-on, and onshore – keeping everything chopped and uninviting. The combined swell energy barely cracks 100 for most of it, often sitting in the weak teens or thirties, which tells you how little push there is.

The only glimmer of hope comes on the morning of Sunday the 20th. Early, it’s going to be glassy with a light offshore from the northwest. Swell is tiny at 1 ft from the southeast, but the period stretches out to 11 seconds. That’s a long-period groundswell that, on a beach/jetty setup like 48th Street (Fortyeighth-Street), can tend to break a bit straight – but the clean, glassy surface is a major positive. The combined energy is still weak at just 59, so don’t expect much power. It’s surfable but ordinary.

Then on Monday the 21st, there’s another shot – a glassy morning with zero wind, 3 ft from the south, period of only 4 seconds. That’s a short, weak, windswell with combined energy of 63. It’s clean, but the waves will be small and gutless.

Honestly, neither of these are standouts. There’s no real highlight in this window. If you’re desperate for a paddle, the Sunday the 20th morning is the best of a very poor bunch. But I wouldn’t hold your breath.

Rusty.

Read more