La Jolla Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee, because I’m gonna level with you. For the next couple of weeks, it’s a real tough stretch for surf at La Jolla Cove. I’ve been looking at the numbers, and honestly, we start off with a lot of nothing. The first week, up to about the 28th of August, is pretty much a write-off. We’re looking at ankle-snappers to knee-high dribble, mostly around 2 feet, and the wind is never really on our side. It's cross-on or cross-shore almost the whole time, so the surface is a mess. A few mornings are clean but the swell is just too weak. Water temp is pretty standard for this time of year, nothing wild. You’d be fighting the crowds you might find here for nothing.

Now, around the 30th of August, things try to flicker to life. We see the swell bump up to 5 feet on the Sunday morning, with a period of 9 seconds from the WNW. That’s a little more interesting. The winds are a light cross-shore, which isn’t glassy, but the clean wave comment for the 30th afternoon is promising. The 31st of August and into the first of September gives us more of that WNW swell, around 4 to 4 feet, but the period drops back to 8 seconds. The wind is cross-offshore from the south, so the faces should be clean, but the energy is moderate at best. It’s still pretty small for a reef and point set-up like the Cove, which likes a bit more push from the NW optimum direction.

The standout, as far as it goes, would be the morning of the 30th of August. That 5-foot swell is the biggest we see in the whole outlook, and with a 9-second period, it’ll have a bit of shape. The wind is only a light breeze, so it will be much cleaner than the choppy stuff we’ve been looking at. It’s not mind-blowing, but it’s the best of a poor bunch. Beginners might find that 5-foot mark a bit of a handful at this break, but for the intermediate crew, it’s the only time worth paddling out.

After that first weekend, we drop right back down. From the 2nd of September onwards, it’s back to those tiny, weak swells. The energy drops way off, basically nothing. There’s a morning of clear weather and a light cross-offshore wind on the 4th, but with barely 3 feet of weak swell, you’d be working for nothing. The long-range stuff around the 7th of September is just flat.

So, overall, it’s a grim 16 days for La Jolla Cove. There’s no real run of consistency here, just a brief little pulse at the end of August. If you absolutely have to get wet, keep your eyes peeled for that Sunday the 30th, otherwise, save your energy for something else. Forecasts can always change, but right now, it’s a tough pill to swallow.

Rusty.

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