Huntington Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for Huntington Beach. I gotta be straight with you right off the bat: this 16-day stretch is a tough one. We’re looking at a pretty long gap where there’s just nothing worth paddling out for. The first week is full of small, weak swell with poor to marginal conditions, and it doesn’t really let up. The waves are small, period is long, but the wind is mostly cross or onshore, just messing up what little energy there is. It's a classic case of "check the cam and stay home" kind of outlook.

We kick off on Monday the 14th, and it's a flat start. Swell is a tiny 1 ft from the SW with a very long 18-second period, but the wind is cross-shore and just making it choppy. The energy is weak (218). That’s not surf; that’s a bumpy lake. You'll be waiting for sets that barely show. Tuesday and Wednesday are a bit of the same story – small SW swell, a little bigger in height but still under 3 ft, but the cross-onshore wind keeps things messy. The water temp is about average for this time of year.

We finally start to see a slight bump in the weekend. Sunday the 20th and Monday the 21st show the swell nudging up to 3 ft to 3 ft from the SW, and the energy climbs into the moderate range, hitting 507 (Sunday afternoon). But the wind is straight onshore, SW to WSW, so it’s a bumpy, blown-out mess. The period is still long (16-17 seconds), which for a beach break like Huntington means those waves are just gonna close out or be hard to line up. I’d still say it’s a marginal call – you might get a couple of rides if you’re desperate, but it’s not good.

The whole second week, from the 23rd of September through to the 29th, is just poor. The swell drops back down to 2 ft to 3 ft, the period comes down, and the wind stays in that onshore or cross-onshore quadrant. No standouts. No hidden gems. Just a whole lot of small, chop.

Honestly, this is a real dry spell. There is nothing to get excited about. For this entire period, the best you can hope for is a small, soft wave on the Sunday/Monday when the wind drops to light, but with the wind direction being onshore, it’s a gamble. If you absolutely have to get wet, your best window would be Sunday (Sep 20) or Monday (Sep 21) mornings when the wind is light. But that’s a “maybe get one ride” kind of session, not a “surf report to plan around” type.

Because the surf is so small and the wind is messy, this is the kind of stretch where the conditions look more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer. If the wind stays up, they’ll be having fun, but for us, it’s a waiting game.

- Rusty

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