Huntington Cliffs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’m looking at the next couple of weeks for our stretch of coast here at Huntington Cliffs.

First off, it’s a slow start. The water is sitting at a balmy 75°, which is a solid 8° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s pretty wild, honestly. But the surf is a letdown to start. For the first week, we’re seeing some long-period groundswell sneaking in from the SSW, with swell heights bouncing between 2 ft and 4 ft. The combined energy is moderate, getting up to around 777 at its peak on Saturday the 29th, but the problem is the wind. Almost every session has that onshore or cross-onshore breeze messing things up, creating chop or ripples. The waves are there, but the quality is shot for most of the mornings and afternoons.

Friday morning the 28th gives us a tiny 2 ft SSW swell with a 17-second period, but it’s onshore breeze from the SSW at just 6 mph. The water is beautiful, but the waves are marginal. The weekend looks a little bigger, with the swell hitting 3 ft to 4 ft on Saturday the 29th, but again, that onshore wind just makes it a messy, poor surf conditions call.

You have to wait until Monday the 7th of September to see anything close to decent. That morning is cloudy with a light rain, but the wind finally swings around to a light N cross-offshore breeze at 9 mph. The swell is a modest 3 ft from the SSW, but for the first time, the conditions are described as clean. That’s the one bright window in the whole run – a session that feels like it could actually be worth paddling out for, despite the small size.

After that, it’s back to the same pattern for the second week: small, onshore wind, poor conditions. There’s a little bump in size on Wednesday the 9th and Thursday the 10th with a 3 ft to 4 ft S swell, but it’s still mostly cross-onshore, which means choppy and unappealing.

Honestly, this is a tough stretch. The swell energy is moderate but the wind just won’t cooperate. If you’re a kitesurfer, that consistent cross-onshore breeze on a beach setup could look fun. For us paddle surfers, the only real standout is that Monday morning the 7th. It’s small, but clean. The rest of the forecast is a whole lot of waiting. Don’t hang up your board, but don’t get your hopes up either.

Rusty

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