Isla Vista Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's get straight into it for Isla Vista.

We're looking at a pretty flat and quiet run for the next couple of weeks. The water is sitting at 71°, which is a solid 8° warmer than usual for this time of year - that's much warmer than normal, so you won't need a thick wetsuit, that's for sure.

The first week is a struggle. From Monday the 31st of August right through to the end of the week, it's all poor surf. We're talking tiny swell, mostly under 2ft, with onshore or cross-onshore winds messing up any chance of a clean wave. The energy is weak, sitting between 138 and 465 (moderate at best), and the periods are all over the place, from a short 5 seconds up to a long 18 seconds, but it doesn't matter because the size just isn't there. Conditions are consistently described as "poor" or "marginal" at best.

There's a long gap here with no real recommendations. You'll be waiting until Sunday the 6th of September for a tiny glimmer. That afternoon, the wind goes glassy from the SSE, and we get a brief moment of "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions" with a 2ft SSW swell. That's about the best of a bad bunch for the first week, but it's barely worth paddling out for.

Moving into the second week, things don't improve much. From Monday the 7th to Sunday the 13th, it's more of the same: tiny waves, weak energy, and mostly poor conditions. The swell energy does pick up a bit on Thursday the 10th of September, hitting 397 (moderate) with a 2ft SW swell and a 17-second period, but the winds are cross-shore or cross-onshore, keeping it from being clean. The wave comment is still "marginal" or "poor."

Honestly, for the entire 16-day window, there's no standout session. The swell never gets above 4ft, and that one instance on Tuesday the 1st of September afternoon is a short-period 5-second WNW windswell with cross-onshore winds. It's a beach and reef setup here, so with that kind of tiny, weak, and messy surf, it's looking more interesting for a kite session than paddling out on a surfboard.

The only real highlight, if you can call it that, is that the consistency is described as "fairly consistent," so it tends not to stay completely flat for long. But for this forecast, you're better off waiting for the next one.

Rusty.

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