Hookipa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty.

I gotta be straight with you – it’s looking pretty bleak for Hookipa over the next couple of weeks. We’ve got a serious run of poor surf conditions stretching from now all the way through the end of the month. There’s really no proper stand-out session in the cards.

Let me walk you through it. From Sunday the 13th right through to Tuesday the 22nd of September, it’s a long stretch of mostly "poor surf conditions." The wind is almost always a cross or cross-on shore, which is just chewing up the surface. Early on, from the 13th to the 15th, we’re seeing small swell around 2ft to 3ft with a short period of 8-9 seconds. The combined energy is weak to moderate (205 at best), and the water temp is 80° – about average for this time of year, so that’s not the issue.

Midweek from the 16th, the swell starts to build. We get a 4ft east swell on Wednesday morning with a 10-second period and a combined energy of 367, but the wind is still a moderate cross-shore. It stays messy. By Thursday the 17th, the swell jumps to 8ft from the ENE, with period at 10 seconds and the combined energy cranking up to 1021 – that’s moderate to strong energy. But with a fresh cross-shore wind at 19 mph and the risk of thunderstorms in the afternoon, it’s just not clean. That’s big, powerful, messy surf – strictly for experts if anyone even bothers.

There’s a slight tease on Tuesday the 22nd. We get a 7ft east swell in the morning with a 9-second period and strong energy (1033). Then in the afternoon, it jumps to 8ft from the east with a very long 12-second period and massive energy (1807). The guidance says that’s a “marginal” call. That long period groundswell could be proper at a reef like Hookipa, but the wind is still a moderate cross-shore, so it’ll have that lumpy cross-chop on it. It’s the closest thing to a highlight, but it’s not a clean standout.

Wednesday the 23rd and Thursday the 24th hold similar size – 8ft swell with strong energy (1621 and 1124) – but the period drops back to 10-11 seconds and the cross-shore wind just won’t let up. The afternoon of the 24th turns cross-onshore, which kills it.

After that, from the 25th to the 28th, the swell fades back down to 5ft to 7ft with short 7-8 second periods. The energy drops into the moderate range, and the wind remains a problem.

Honestly, this setup with the strong cross-shore winds and decent-sized swell looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. For us surfers, it’s a long blank run. Hang in there, forecasts can change.

Rusty.

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