Huntington Cliffs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s shaping up for our local stretch.

Honestly, the next week and a half looks pretty flat and sad for Huntington Cliffs. The water is running at a very unusual 71° right now, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, but that’s about the only exciting thing going on. We’ve got a tiny trace of SSW groundswell in the water, but the period is a very long 16 seconds, which usually means those waves are wrapping and closing out on a beach setup. The combined energy is weak at 358, and the onshore SW wind at 9 mph is just messing up any chance of a clean face. The call is “poor surf conditions” straight through most of this run.

We have to wait all the way until Tuesday the 25th of August for anything worth getting out of bed for. The morning session on the 25th shows a bit of a pulse: 0.7 ft of S swell with a moderate 507 combined energy. Still a marginal call, but the wind is light and onshore from the SW at 6 mph, which is the cleanest we’ll see for a while. That afternoon gets a little bigger, pushing 4 ft from the south, with combined energy jumping to 869, but the period drops to 15 seconds, and the wind stays onshore. It’s the best of a bad bunch, but it’s still a gamble.

Then Wednesday the 26th of August morning is the real standout, if you can be patient. We’ve got 4 ft of S swell, period at 13 seconds, and combined energy at a moderate 510. The wind is light, glassy, and onshore at 6 mph from the SW—this is as good as the wind gets for a beach spot. It’s still a marginal forecast, but with the light air and some size, it’ll be the cleanest, most fun wave of the entire 16-day window. Crowds are likely here often, so get there early.

After that, it fades back to poor conditions with onshore breezes and tiny swell. If we’re lucky, the Friday the 28th of August might throw up a sneaky one, with 3 ft of SSW swell and a long 18-second period, but the cross-shore wind from the SSE will chop it up.

Overall, hold out for the 25th and 26th of August, with the Wednesday morning the 26th being the clear winner. It’s not pumping, but it’s our only shot at something clean.

- Rusty

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