Huntington Cliffs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you. It’s a pretty flat and quiet stretch ahead for our stretch of coast. We’re looking at a solid 16-day window, but don’t get too excited just yet. The first real surf worth paddling out for is this Sunday morning, the 9th.

We start off with some small, long-period groundswell. Swell heights are around 3ft, coming from the SSW with a 15-second period. That’s clean, lined-up energy, but it’s small. The water’s a balmy 72°F, which is a whopping 6°F warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s not just a little warm, that’s a proper tropical anomaly. We're talking about Huntington Cliffs here (California). It’s a fairly consistent spot, but the morning light breeze from the WSW will keep the surface glassy. Overall energy is moderate, coming in at 260. It’s a marginal call, but with a bit of luck and the right tide, you could snag a few. But honestly, it’s not much to write home about.

Going into the week, things don't really improve. Monday the 10th through Thursday the 13th, it’s more of the same, but smaller. Swells hover between 2ft and 2ft, mostly SSW with periods ranging from 13 to 16 seconds. The wind stays light and onshore, which will keep things clean but the lack of size is the killer. The energy readings stay in the low to mid 100s and 200s, which is weak to moderate at best. This is a stretch where the surf is pretty much barely breaking. You’ll see more knee-high slop than actual rideable waves.

The next glimmer of hope comes on Friday morning, August 14th. The energy picks up, with a reading of 386, and the swell period jumps to 19 seconds. That’s some proper long-period groundswell pushing in, even if the height is still only 2ft. The onshore light breeze should keep it tidy. It’s still small, but there’s a bit more push behind it. The afternoon sees the energy jump to 517, and the swell bumps up to 2ft. Still, the conditions are called poor. It's a tease.

The weekend of the 16th and 17th brings a touch more size, with the swell hitting 4ft on Sunday morning. But the wind turns cross-onshore from the WSW, and the conditions get chopped up. That 570 energy reading is the strongest we see for a while, with a 16-second SSW swell, but that onshore wind is going to make it messy. This might be more interesting for the kite crowd than for paddle surfing, to be honest.

After that, we settle back into a long, unremarkable pattern. From the 18th through the 24th, we're looking at small swells, mostly under 3ft. There's a hint of a longer-period swell on the 22nd from the SW at 21 seconds, but it’s only 1ft. The energy levels are generally moderate, hovering between 200 and 300. There are a few mornings, like the 18th and 24th, that have a cross-on breeze, making things a little bumpy. It’s just a whole lot of small, weak surf.

So, what’s the call? The only two standouts in this entire run are the morning of Sunday the 9th and the morning of Friday the 14th. They aren't big, but they are the cleanest and have the most potential for a fun, small-wave session. Everything else is below average, and there are long stretches of nothing. Given how consistent this break usually is, I’d say a flat spell like this is a bit unusual, but it happens. Forecasts can change, so keep an eye on it, but the long-range stuff is thin. For now, get your fix on those couple of mornings, and be patient for the rest.

Rusty, out.

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