Jalama Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it.

The next couple of weeks are a bit of a mixed bag. We’ve got a solid stretch of waves on the horizon, but you’re going to have to pick your moments. The near-term forecast is choppy and a little messy, but there’s some serious potential building into the end of the month and beyond.

Right now, through the rest of this week, we’re looking at some waves, but nothing that’s going to have you calling in sick. The swell is coming in from the NW, but it’s short-period, mostly in the 7-8 second range. That’s not going to give us any of that clean, lined-up groundswell. We’re dealing with a lot of cross and cross-offshore winds, mostly moderate, which is keeping things lumpy and a bit all over the place. Monday afternoon’s surf is a bit of a write-off, with a weak 3ft from the SSW, and poor conditions.

Tuesday through Friday sees the swell push up to the 5-6ft range, but it’s still that junky NW windswell. The winds are going to be a constant factor, with a NNW breeze filling in each afternoon. It’s not going to be completely awful, but it’s far from clean. You’ll get some cleaner windows in the mornings, like Tuesday morning and Saturday morning, but the wave quality is really only marginal. The water is 66°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so that’s a small bonus. The energy is moderate, with combined energy values around 460 to 790.

Then we hit a bit of a lull this coming weekend. Saturday the 23rd has some waves, but the wind is on it, and by Sunday the 24th, the swell drops off to 4ft and the conditions are poor. It’s a bit of a flat, frustrating spell. Monday the 25th is the same story – small and weak, with 2ft swells. This is the part of the forecast where you’re better off doing something else. This poor run looks to last a couple of days.

Now, here’s where things start to get interesting. From the 26th, we see the swell fill back in from the NW, but again, it’s short-period. We’re looking at 5-6ft, with those persistent NNW winds. It’s still not what I’d call good. The real story is what’s brewing for the tail end of the window. The 28th into the 29th and 30th is when we finally see some proper SSW groundswell start to show up. That’s the direction that works at Jalama. The period jumps up to 16-19 seconds, which is a proper long-period groundswell with real energy behind it.

The combined energy starts to climb too, from the 950 on the 28th afternoon, up to strong readings of 1251 and 1338 by the 29th and 30th. These are strong signals, but it’s still over a week out, so treat it as promising but not locked in. The swell size is only around 4ft, but with that long period and the right direction, it’ll have way more push than the size suggests.

Looking further out, the very start of September has a swell coming in around 7-8ft from the NW on the 31st, with lighter winds. That’s a bigger, more powerful swell, and worth keeping an eye on.

So, if you’re looking for the absolute standout, it’s got to be the 29th and 30th of August. That’s when we get the proper SSW groundswell, with a long period and strong energy, right in that 1251 to 1338 range. The winds are still forecast to be cross and cross-off, so it won’t be perfect, but it’s the most promising window of the whole period. Jalama loves that SW groundswell. The 31st is also a shout, if you want a bit more size, but that’s a NW swell, which isn’t as good a direction.

One thing to note: with the 16-19 second periods, the waves could be breaking a bit too straight at the beach. But Jalama is a point, and that’s exactly where you want to be for a long-period groundswell like that.

Rusty.

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