Isla Vista Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here with a look at the upcoming surf for the Isla Vista area. Let’s get straight into it.

Right off the bat, I gotta be honest with you: the next week or so is looking pretty flat and messy. The water temperature is sitting at a very unusual 70° with a massive anomaly of 7° warmer than normal for this time of year, which is something, but unfortunately, the waves aren't playing the same game.

The first real sniff of anything halfway decent doesn’t show up until Saturday, the 15th of August. Even then, it's only a marginal call with some questionable tides or something else messing with the quality. Swell's small at 2ft from the SSW with a moderate 16-second period, and the wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore. It’s not a write-off, but you’d be chasing shadows.

From Saturday afternoon through to Thursday the 20th, the pattern is pretty consistent: poor surf with small, weak swells. The wind stays light, but it's almost always onshore or cross-onshore, which is a killer for a beach and reef setup like Isla Vista. The combined energy readings are moderate to strong (hitting the 200s and 300s), but without clean, offshore wind, that energy just gets chopped up.

Now, there is a change in the wind and swell direction late in the period. Around Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd, the swell direction swings around to the WNW, but it's short-period windswell, only 5 to 6 seconds. The height bumps up, hitting 6ft on Friday afternoon, but the quality is still listed as marginal at best. It’s a bit of a tease, really. A short-period, onshore windswell swell at a beach break usually means bumpy, sectiony waves. If you like a challenge, you might find something, but don't expect a classic lined-up day.

The rest of the period into the second week remains quiet, with the same old story of small, onshore slop. Isla Vista is an exposed spot, and without that perfect NE offshore wind, it just doesn’t come together. This stretch looks more interesting for a kite session than a paddle session, to be honest.

So, the takeaway? We’ve got a pretty big gap of poor to marginal conditions for the next week and a half. The only glimmer of hope is that funky WNW swell at the end of the month, but with the wind not playing ball, I wouldn't be holding my breath for any standouts. It tends not to stay this poor for long, but for now, the board stays in the car.

Rusty, signing off.

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