Huntington Cliffs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, crew, let’s be straight. It’s a tough stretch. We’re looking at a long run of pretty marginal conditions, so don’t get your hopes up. The first real chance to get wet is on Tuesday morning, August 25th.

Tuesday morning, August 25th – We’ve got a tiny 2ft swell from the SW, with a very long 16-second period. The water is a warm 73°, which is a whopping 6° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s very unusual. The wind is a light cross-onshore at 6 mph from the SSW, so it’s not clean, but it’s not a total mess either. The combined wave energy is weak, sitting at 314. It’s a beginner-friendly wave right now, but the quality is just not there. Huntington Cliffs is exposed to the SW, and the optimum swell direction is WSW, so the direction is a little off.

After that, we’re in a real dry spell. The surf stays small, under 3ft, through the rest of August and into the first week of September. The wind is often cross-on or onshore, and the scores are all low. You’ll see a few mornings with a 4ft bump on Wednesday the 26th, but the wind is still cross-on, so it’s not really worth calling out as a standout. It’s just a bigger, messier version of the same thing.

There’s a gap of several days here with nothing really worth paddling out for. The forecasts are all showing “marginal” or “poor” conditions right through to the end of the first week of September.

Wednesday morning, September 9th – This is the one that’s got my eye. We’ve got a 3ft swell from the SW, with a very long 18-second period. The wind is light and onshore from the SW at 6 mph, which is a bit of a shame because it’ll be a bit bumpy on the surface. The combined wave energy here is moderate, hitting 601. It’s a long-period groundswell, so it’ll have more punch and shape, but it’s a beach break setup, so those long-period swells can sometimes be a bit straight. Still, this is the best energy we’ve seen in the whole 16-day window. It’s still a “marginal” call, but it’s the closest thing to a standout.

Overall, the pattern is pretty flat. There’s no real standout session. If you’re desperate, the Tuesday morning (August 25th) is the only session with a tiny wave, and the Wednesday morning (September 9th) has the best energy. But honestly, for a lot of this time, the conditions are so poor that the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

Stay patient, mates. It’s not always like this.

Rusty

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