Huntington Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’m not gonna lie to you, it’s looking pretty flat and frustrating out there. We’ve got a solid 16-day window to look at, but honestly, for the first two weeks there’s hardly anything that’s worth paddling out for. For the most part, we’re looking at small, weak, and wonky conditions. There’s a long stretch, roughly from now up until the end of September, where the surf is mostly just limp and disorganised. The only sniff of something half decent shows up right at the end.

Right now, the water at Huntington Pier is sitting at a very warm 73°F, which is a full 7°F warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s very unusual, it feels like bath water out there, but it's not helping the surf.

We start on Tuesday the 15th and Wednesday the 16th. The swell is tiny, only 1 ft to 3 ft out of the SSW to SW, with periods up to 20 seconds. Even though it’s a long period groundswell, which usually means better shaped waves, it’s just too small to do anything with the weak combined swell energy. For Tuesday morning it’s reading just 172 (weak energy) and Wednesday morning picks up to 369 (moderate energy). The winds are onshore or cross-onshore from the SSW to SW at 9 mph, so the wave faces are a messy, rippled chop. This is all "poor surf conditions" territory – nothing doing.

Thursday the 17th is more of the same: 2 ft of weak SSW swell, winds still onshore. The energy climbs a little to 364 (moderate), but with cross-onshore wind, it’s still poor. Friday the 18th through to the rest of the week and into the next shows the same story. Swell heights bounce between 2 ft and 3 ft, almost always from the SW, with periods from 14 to 19 seconds. The energy creeps up – Saturday the 19th afternoon hits 422 (moderate), and Sunday the 20th morning gets to 481 (moderate) – but the wind is relentless. It’s mostly a light to gentle cross-onshore breeze, making the surface bumpy and uninviting. For a beginner spot like Huntington Pier which is very consistent, it’s still just not bringing any quality. The waves are basically just small and choppy.

Even the mornings from the 17th (Thursday) through the 22nd (Tuesday), and again on the 25th (Friday), the 29th (Tuesday), and the 30th (Wednesday) only get a "marginal" rating of 1 out of 10. That’s the best we’ve got for most of the window, and it’s saying more about the lack of any proper option than it is about decent surf. The winds those mornings are lighter (light breeze, 3-6 mph), but the swell is still in the 2 ft to 3 ft range, so you’d be fighting the tide and the small size for barely a ride.

It’s not until the very tail end – around Tuesday the 29th and Wednesday the 30th – that we get a small, slim chance. The swell is still only 2 ft from the SW, with a 15 to 16 second period and moderate energy (277). But the wind in the morning is more onshore from the SW to WSW at only 6 mph. For a spot as exposed as Huntington Pier, when you get that light, even onshore wind, and a long period swell from the optimum direction of WSW, you might at least find a couple of cleaner lines. The forecast is still "marginal", but for this entire bleak outlook, it's the least bad option.

For everything else, this is a kite surfer’s window. The constant cross-onshore breeze and small, choppy waves are going to be way more fun for them than for us paddle surfers. The setup is all beach break, which with this weak, long period swell and poor wind, is just going to close out or be a bumpy mess. If you’re desperate, look for the morning of the 29th and 30th, but don’t hold your breath.

Rusty

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