Huntington Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, it's Rusty here with a look at what's on the menu at Huntington Beach over the next couple of weeks.

First up, the water is running about 2° warmer than usual for this time of year, so you're looking at balmy 21° conditions right now. The general vibe for the next week is pretty average – we've got a consistent pulse of long-period SSW groundswell, but it's fighting against a lot of cross-onshore wind. The combined energy hangs around 464 to 908 (moderate wave energy), but with the wind all over the place, most sessions are going to feel a bit choppy and unorganized.

Monday the 20th afternoon is a tough one to get excited about. We've got a clean 2ft SSW swell with a very long 16 seconds period and a light offshore breeze, but the overall forecast is poor. It's there, but hard to trust. Tuesday the 21st morning is a much better shout. The swell bumps up to 4ft from the SSW, period still at a solid 16 seconds, with clean light offshore wind. The energy is ramping up, and those conditions will hold some shape, but the crowd situation is something to keep in mind – Huntington is often busy, and this will be no exception. That morning session is probably your best bet this week, but it's still only a marginal call. Tuesday afternoon and through Wednesday afternoon the wind shifts cross-onshore and picks up, making a mess of things with 3ft of choppy, blown-out junk.

Thursday the 23rd starts with 4ft S swell but still under a light cross-onshore wind, so it's a bit lumpy. By Friday the 24th, we see a weird one – a tiny 2ft SW groundswell but with an insane 24 second period. That's a very long period swell, and at a beach break like HB, it's going to break super straight and fat. Combined energy is big (908) but the size is just too small to do much with it.

The next weekend (the 25th and 26th) stays marginal. Light offshore winds Saturday morning on a 3ft SSW swell with a long 21 second period, but again, that period is so long it'll be hard to find a decent peak. Sunday morning the wind is light cross-onshore on a similar sized 3ft SSW 19 second swell.

Now, if you've got patience, the first week of August looks more promising. Friday the 31st of July brings a solid push, with the morning showing 5ft SSE swell and light offshore wind. The energy jumps to a strong 1098 (moderate to strong wave energy). Friday afternoon gets even better: 5ft S swell, period at 15 seconds, and light offshore wind. That's a big jump in energy to 1595 (strong wave energy). This is the standout window. The morning of Saturday the 1st of August is also very good – 5ft S swell with a light cross-onshore breeze, and the combined energy is 1239 (strong wave energy). That's a lot of juice in the water, and with the wind only light, it should be clean. This is worth circling on the calendar. Saturday afternoon sees the swell peak at 6ft from the south, still under light offshore wind, but 6ft is getting up there – too big for beginners, but excellent for experienced surfers.

The swell then fades quickly into Sunday the 2nd and Monday the 3rd, dropping back to waist-high, weaker energy levels. Tuesday the 4th of August morning kicks back up to 4ft S swell with a light offshore wind, another solid look, but by afternoon the wind picks up cross-onshore on a 5ft swell, which will chop things up a bit.

So the best windows are the early mornings of July 21st, and then the standout is the last day of July and the first day of August. The morning of August 1st looks like the pick of the whole period: clean conditions, solid 5ft S swell with strong energy.

Rusty, signing off.

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