47th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let me break down what's on the cards for 47th Street over the next couple of weeks. Honestly, this stretch is looking pretty tough. We've got a long gap of not much to write home about before a late flurry of energy shows up, but it's not going to be easy.

Right off the bat, from Wednesday the 26th right through to the end of August, it's a write-off. The swell is tiny, barely 1.3 feet from the southeast, and the wind is a mess of cross-shore and onshore breezes. The water is a very warm 77.4°, which is a solid 4.1° warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s the only good thing. The combined wave energy is weak, barely cracking 30 to 40 (26-34 range), and the forecasts are all calling it "poor surf conditions." It's a frustrating start.

We get a little flicker of hope on Friday the 28th morning. The wind goes light offshore from the west, and those tiny 2.3 feet SE swells clean up nicely. The energy is still low (72), but it's rideable if you're desperate for a paddle. The period is a short 8 seconds, so it's not going to have any punch, but at least it's clean. That window closes fast, though, as the wind shifts and the waves drop back to nothing.

From Saturday the 29th all the way through the first week of September, it's a total desert. Day after day of 0.7 feet to 1.3 feet junk, onshore winds, and combined energy numbers that barely reach double digits. There's a few days of clean offshore winds around the 2nd and 3rd of September, but the swell is so small (1.0 feet to 1.6 feet) it's not worth getting wet. The energy is laughable, down to 7 on the 1st of September.

Then things get weird. Around the 6th of September, the swell starts to build. We see a pulse of 2.3 feet to 3.0 feet from the east on Sunday the 6th, with the energy jumping to 163 by the afternoon. But the wind is a fresh 19 mph cross-onshore, making it a lumpy, choppy mess. That's not surf, that's a washing machine.

The real standout, if you can call it that, is the week of the 7th of September. We get a genuine groundswell. Monday the 7th sees 2.3 feet to 2.6 feet from the east with a period of 11 seconds, holding energy in the 150-170 range (153-172). The wind is still a moderate cross-onshore, so it's choppy, but there's power in the water. By Tuesday the 8th, the period stretches to 13 seconds, which is proper long-period groundswell. The energy stays solid (152-145). The caveat here is that a long-period easterly swell at a beach/jetty setup like 47th Street can be tricky – it might break too straight and close out. Wednesday the 9th is the best bet of the whole run. The wind goes clean cross-offshore from the northwest at 16 mph, with 2.3 feet to 2.6 feet of 12-second ESE groundswell. The energy is strong at 182. This is the only window where conditions and swell align. It's still not massive, but it's clean, has some push, and the period is long enough to offer some proper shaped waves. For the experienced surfer, this is the one.

So, to sum it up: expect a long, flat, frustrating start. The only real window is the week starting September 7th, with the cleanest, most powerful surf likely on the morning of Wednesday the 9th. The rest of that week has energy, but the wind is a factor. This is a case of wait it out and be ready to move when that groundswell hits.

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