La Jolla Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s have a look at what’s cooking for La Jolla Cove over the next two weeks.

Right off the bat, I’ve gotta be straight with you – there’s not a single standout session in this whole 16-day window. The surf is pretty much flat to weak across the board, and the wind is almost always cross-onshore, leaving things choppy and messy. The first real chance to paddle out comes on Wednesday the 13th in the afternoon, but even that’s a marginal call at best.

So, the pattern is a long, drawn-out stretch of poor conditions. From now through to the end of August, you’re looking at small swell with combined energy values that are mostly weak to moderate – for example, 120 (weak) on the 12th, then jumping to 366 (moderate) on the 13th afternoon, but that’s about as good as it gets for energy. The trouble is the wind is almost always cross-onshore, and the swell direction is often SW or WNW, which isn’t ideal for this spot anyway. The optimum swell direction for La Jolla Cove is from the NW, and we rarely see that.

The water temperature is sitting at 75° on the 12th, which is a whopping 7° warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s very unusual, so you’ll be surfing in bathtub-warm water.

Let’s walk through the days. On Wednesday afternoon the 12th, there’s a 2 ft SW swell with a 13-second period, but the wind is cross-onshore from the W at 9 mph. Combined energy is just 120 (weak). It’s poor. Thursday the 13th morning is even smaller – 1 ft WNW, 9-second period, energy 29 (weak) – and cross-shore wind. Thursday afternoon gets a 3 ft SW swell with a 16-second period, energy 366 (moderate), but the wind is still cross-onshore. It’s a marginal surf forecast. Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th are all cross-onshore, choppy, with tiny swell and low energy. Sunday the 16th sees a 3 ft WNW swell with a 6-second period, energy 54 – that’s short period, weak, and onshore wind. The whole first week is a write-off.

Into the second week, Monday the 17th through Tuesday the 18th, the swell bumps up to 3 ft from the W, but periods are short (6-7 seconds), energy is still low (70-109), and the wind remains cross-onshore. On Wednesday the 19th morning, we finally get a cross-offshore wind from the SSW at 9 mph, which cleans things up, but the swell is only 3 ft from the WNW with an 8-second period. Energy is 94 (weak). It’s clean, but weak. The rest of the week stays small and messy.

The only time things get a bit more interesting is around the 26th and 27th of August. On Wednesday the 26th morning, we see a 3 ft SW swell with a 16-second period, and combined energy jumps to 434 (moderate). The wind is light cross-onshore from the W at 6 mph. That’s a marginal surf forecast. Thursday the 27th morning has a 4 ft SW swell, 15-second period, energy 490 (moderate), with onshore wind from the WNW at 6 mph. Still marginal. The afternoons are similar but with a bit more energy (549) but cross-onshore wind. The swell direction is SW, which isn’t the optimum NW for La Jolla Cove, and the long period (15-16 seconds) means the waves might be a bit straight for a beach break – but La Jolla Cove is a reef and point setup, so that long-period groundswell could actually wrap in nicely. The wind is the letdown, though.

There’s no standout here. The best you could hope for is the 26th or 27th morning, but with that light cross-onshore wind and marginal surf, it’s a maybe. The crowds are listed as “sometimes” at this break, so you might find a few others out, but with these conditions, I doubt it’ll be packed.

For now, keep your board waxed and wait for a better window. Forecasts can change, but this one’s looking pretty grim.

Rusty.

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