Huntington Cliffs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's cookin' at Huntington Cliffs.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – it's a bit of a slow start. The forecast shows small, weak swell through the first few days, with the wind blowing on it from the wrong direction. It’s not looking great for a paddle.

The water temperature is sitting at 72°, which is a massive 6° warmer than usual for this time of year. That's very unusual, so you'll be sweating in your wetsuit, but the surf itself is pretty disappointing for a while.

The first real glimmer of hope shows up on Friday morning, the 14th of August. The swell direction is from the SSW, with a height around 2 ft and a very long period of 19 seconds. This is a proper groundswell, with combined wave energy of 425 (moderate energy). For a spot like Huntington Cliffs, which is exposed to a WSW swell and has a NE offshore, this long-period swell from the SSW isn't the best match. It's a bit of a tease – the energy is there, but the conditions are just marginal, likely due to tide issues. The afternoon picks up a bit to 2 ft, but the wind swings to a stronger 12 mph from the WSW, making for a bumpy session.

Moving into the weekend, Saturday the 15th of August morning offers a similar story. We've got a 3 ft SSW swell with a 16-second period and a combined energy of 464. The wind is light, but it's coming from the WSW, creating a light cross-onshore breeze with small wind ripples. Not ideal, but it's the best the forecast has to offer for a surf. The afternoon swell bumps up to 3 ft, but the wind gets stronger and more onshore.

Honestly, there's no standout day here. The consistent message from the data is "poor surf conditions." The swell is small and often from a direction that doesn't perfectly suit the break, with winds that are rarely clean and offshore.

For the second week, from the 17th of August onward, the pattern holds. We see similar small swells, mostly from the SSW and SW, with periods around 14-16 seconds. The wind remains a problem, mostly onshore or cross-onshore from the WSW. The combined energy fluctuates between 200 and 350 (moderate), but it's never paired with the right wind. By the 22nd of August, the swell period gets very long again (21 seconds) from the SW, but the height is tiny at 1 ft, and the energy is still weak.

The long-range outlook for the 24th of August shows a 2 ft SW swell with an 18-second period and light offshore wind in the morning, but it's flagged as marginal. It's a promising sign, but with the run of poor forecasts we've had, don't count on it too much.

Overall, it's a flat and windy outlook for Huntington Cliffs. There's no single day that jumps out as a good bet. It might be worth waiting for the forecasts to change, because the potential is there, but for now, keep your board in the car.

Rusty.

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