4 Mile Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey folks, Rusty here. Let's talk about the surf ahead at 4 Mile.

We’re looking at a pretty bleak 16-day stretch, to be honest. The pattern is dominated by onshore and cross-shore winds, which is going to keep things messy. There are no true standouts in the window – it’s a long run of mediocre to poor conditions. The only real highlight is a brief window of opportunity, but it comes with a major caveat.

We start off with a bit of a tease. Thursday the 10th, we’ve got a 3ft SSW groundswell rolling in with a long 17-second period. That long period means better shaped waves and more energy, but it’s coming in with a moderate cross-shore breeze. The water temp is 60°, which is about average for this time of year. The combined swell energy is moderate at 620. It’s marginal at best.

Friday the 11th is more of the same – similar swell size and direction, with that persistent cross-shore wind. The energy climbs slightly to 778, but it’s still not clean.

Then things go downhill fast. From Saturday the 12th through Tuesday the 23rd, it’s a wasteland. We’ve got a mix of short-period windswell and stronger onshore winds. The swell bumps up to 6ft on Monday the 14th, but with a poor 9-second period and cross-shore winds, the wave comment says it all: “poor surf conditions.” The energy jumps to 548, but it’s just lumpy, choppy junk. For a couple of days around the 13th, the swell is from the WNW with a period as low as 6-7 seconds – that’s pure windswell, no shape, no power worth paddling for. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on those days.

There is one tiny glimmer. On Wednesday the 16th morning, the wind goes light offshore from the WSW. But the swell has dropped right off to a tiny 2ft. Even though it’s an onshore wind later in the day, that morning session could be glassy. It’s a long wait for a very small, clean window.

The final few days from the 21st to the 25th just repeat the pattern: small, weak swell (3ft to 3ft) from the SSW, with moderate cross-shore winds and “poor” or “marginal” conditions. The combined energy stays in the moderate range, topping out at 518 on the 22nd, but with the persistent messy wind, it’s not going to offer anything worth getting excited about.

In short, this is a long 16-day dry spell. The best you can hope for is a very small, clean morning on the 16th. Otherwise, save your energy.

Rusty.

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