Jennette's Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it. The outlook for our neck of the woods is a long, drawn-out tale of flat spells and small, choppy junk. We’re looking at the full 16-day window, and honestly, the first week and a half is a struggle. We’ve got a gap of about 13 days where the surf is just not worth paddling out for, with only a few flickers of hope right at the very end.

Starting with Jennette's Pier, the water is sitting at a warm 80°, which is pretty much bang on average for this time of year.

From Wednesday, August 5th, right through to the morning of Sunday, August 16th, it’s a tough run. The swell is tiny, mostly around 0.7 ft to 3 ft, with short periods of 4 to 9 seconds. The wind is often a problem, kicking up a cross-chop or just making things messy. The combined energy of the swell is weak, sitting in the single digits or low double digits. There are a few mornings with a light breeze and clean conditions, but the waves are just too small and gutless to do anything with. It’s "poor surf conditions" day after day.

Things get a little more interesting on Tuesday, August 18th. The morning shows a 2 ft swell from the SE with an 8-second period, and the wind turns offshore from the W at 12 mph. The wave energy climbs to 85 (moderate energy). It’s still small, but that offshore wind will make it clean. The afternoon looks even better with the same 2 ft swell, a longer 9-second period, and lighter offshore winds from the W at 6 mph. The energy jumps to 144 (moderate energy). For this stretch, this is the best we’ve got, but it’s still just "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions."

On Wednesday, August 19th, the wind swings onshore and the swell turns messy again, so that’s a no-go.

Then we get to the best chance of the whole outlook. On Thursday, August 20th, the swell finally pushes up. In the morning, we’re looking at a 5 ft swell from the NNE with a 6-second period. The wind is cross-off from the SW at 16 mph, so the surface should be clean. The combined energy hits 168 (moderate energy). By the afternoon, the swell builds to 6 ft from the NNE, still with a 6-second period, and the wind backs off a little to 12 mph from the SW. The energy jumps to 248 (moderate to strong energy). This is the standout. That 6 ft is a proper size, and the cross-off wind will line it up nicely. The short period (6 seconds) means it won’t be the most powerful, but it’s the biggest, cleanest swell we’ve seen. Because it’s over 5 ft, it might be a bit much for the absolute beginners, but for the intermediate crew, this is the call. The beach/jetty setup at Jennette’s with a cross-off wind and a decent push will be the spot to be. Just keep in mind that crowds are possible here.

So, if you’ve got the patience, hang tight for that Thursday, August 20th. It’s a long wait, but that’s your best bet.

Rusty.

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