La Jolla Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, I've been staring at the charts for La Jolla Cove and, to be honest, it's a pretty grim run we've got ahead of us. This spot is a consistent little reef and point setup, usually a good beginner's wave, but the next 16 days are a write-off for any decent surf. The whole forecast window is a long stretch of poor surf conditions, so we're looking at a solid 16-day gap with nothing worth paddling out for.

The first hint of something, and I mean a hint, comes on Thursday afternoon, 13 August. The water is a balmy 75°, which is a whopping 7° warmer than usual for this time of year—very unusual. You'll get a tiny 3 ft swell from the SW, but it's a long-period groundswell of 16 seconds. The combined energy is moderate at 366, but it's slight and the wind is a light cross-shore breeze. The forecast scores it as marginal, so don't expect much.

The rest of the week is the same sad story. Friday the 14th through Sunday the 17th see the swell drop further, with heights barely hitting 3 ft. The wind is mostly a cross-onshore breeze, making it choppy. The combined energy is weak, below 100 for most of it. There's a brief window on the 18th and 19th where the wind turns clean and cross-offshore, and the swell builds to 4 ft with a period of 8 seconds, pushing the combined energy into the moderate range (183-213). But the surf is still rated as poor, so it's just not coming together.

The second week is more of the same. From the 20th to the 28th of August, we see a mix of cross and cross-onshore winds, with swell heights bouncing between 1 ft and 3 ft. There's a bit of a long-period SW groundswell showing up on the 22nd and 23rd, with periods of 18-19 seconds and combined energy up to 271, but the swell is tiny and the wind is onshore. It's a tease. The final days show a slight uptick in energy, with a 3 ft swell on the 28th and a 13-second period giving a combined energy of 385, but again, the wind is cross-onshore and the conditions are poor.

Mate, it's a flat spell. There's no standout day, no clean waves to get excited about. The setup is just not on for paddle surfing right now. If you're desperate, you might look at the kite gear, but otherwise, save your energy. The forecasts can always change, but for now, it's a long wait.

Rusty.

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