La Jolla Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's take a look at what La Jolla Cove has in store for us over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, buddy, it’s a tough stretch. We are looking at a long, dry spell of poor surf conditions that runs all the way from now until the second week of September. It’s going to be a flat, ugly period for the most part. The good news is that after ten days of nothing special, there is a little glimmer of something promising, but you’ll have to be patient.

The water temp right now is sitting around average for this time of year, so no need for a thick suit just yet.

For the rest of August and into the first days of September, it’s a write-off. We’ve got tiny swells, mostly from the WNW, with weak energy readings. The wind is a constant problem, never really swinging clean offshore. It's mostly a light to gentle cross-onshore breeze, which just puts a chop on everything and leaves the surface bumpy. The swell period is short, rarely getting above 8 seconds. This will be a mix of small, weak, onshore slop. The morning of the 30th has the most size, but it's still poor.

Then, things get even smaller through the 31st, and the first week of September is just tiny, with the energy dropping to nearly nothing on the 9th. Just not worth paddling out.

Now, the standout – and it’s a potential doozy if it holds. On the morning of Friday, the 11th of September, we finally see a shift. A clean, cross-off wind from the SSW at 9 mph is forecast, and we get a 3 ft swell from the SW with a very long period of 15 seconds. That’s a proper groundswell, and the energy reading jumps to 456. That’s a real pulse of power. For La Jolla Cove, this size is perfect for a beginner-friendly wave, and with that cross-off wind, it’ll be glassy and clean. The only thing to keep in mind: a 15-second period groundswell like that can sometimes push through beach breaks too fast, but for a reef and point setup like the Cove, it should wrap in nicely and offer some good, lined-up waves. The crowd factor here is "sometimes", so on a clean morning like this, expect company.

The next morning, the 12th, still shows some leftover energy at 237 with a clean cross-off, but the swell drops a bit, so the Friday morning is the one to circle on your calendar.

Overall, don't hold your breath for the next ten days. It’s a waiting game until that Friday the 11th.

Rusty.

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