Huntington Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s see what the next couple of weeks are looking like for Huntington Pier. Fair warning, this isn’t a classic run of form for the old pier – we’ve got a big gap at the start with basically nothing on offer.

We’re looking at a long, quiet spell. For the first five days, from Tuesday afternoon right through until Saturday morning, the waves are tiny and the conditions are messy. You’ve got small 2ft to 3ft swells, mostly from the south and southwest, but the wind is constantly cross-onshore or onshore, making it choppy and poor. The combined energy is weak to moderate, sitting between 220 and 805. Honestly, it’s not worth paddling out. Save your energy.

Things start to get a little more interesting on Saturday, September 5th. The swell size ticks up to 4ft to 4ft from the south (14 second period), but the wind turns messy in the afternoon. The morning on Saturday, though, shows a little promise with light onshore wind and a combined energy of 1037 – that’s moderate energy finally showing up. Still, it’s marginal.

Now, Sunday morning, September 6th, is the first real standout. That’s the one to circle. The swell is up to 6ft from the south (14 seconds), combined energy is strong at 1167, and we get a light cross-offshore breeze from the east-southeast. The report calls it “excellent surf conditions for experienced surfers,” and I’m inclined to agree. That swell size is over 5ft, so it’s pushing out of beginner territory, but for the intermediate and above crew, this is your window. Clean conditions and decent energy. The swell direction from the south matches up nicely with the optimum south-southwest direction for the pier.

Monday, September 7th, gets bigger, but it gets messier. The morning sees a solid 8ft south swell (14 seconds) with a cross-shore wind from the northwest. The combined energy is massive at 3593 – that’s strong wave energy. But it’s marginal surf with a cross-chop. By the afternoon, the swell hits 8ft from the south-southwest, but the wind swings to the west-northwest at 16 mph, making it a moderate cross-shore chop. That’s big, expert-only territory for sure, but the quality drops. It’s big but ugly.

After that, from Tuesday the 8th onward, it’s a slow decline back to the small stuff. Swells drop back to 2ft to 5ft, and the winds are mostly cross-onshore or onshore with light to moderate breezes. The combined energy falls back to weak or moderate levels (136 to 680). For the rest of the second week, through to Wednesday the 16th, it’s mostly poor surf conditions with small wave heights and choppy seas. There are no more standouts in that window.

The water temp is sitting at a very unusual 76°F – that’s 9°F warmer than average for this time of year, so you might want a thinner wetsuit or just boardies.

Bottom line: If you’re set on a paddle, make it Sunday morning, September 6th. That’s your cleanest, most powerful option. The rest is either too small, too messy, or too big and ugly for a good time.

Stay frothy, Rusty.

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