La Jolla Cove Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what’s on the cards for our little stretch of coast over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be straight with you, it’s a tough outlook.

First up, the water temp is sitting at 70°F, which is 4°F warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s very notable, a real summer blanket.

Right now, and for the next several days, it’s a bit of a flat spell. We’ve got a few small pulses of swell, but nothing that’s really going to get the heart racing. The problem is the wind. For Wednesday the 8th, we’re looking at a 4ft swell from the WNW with a short 8-second period. The combined wave energy is only moderate at 207, but the wind is a messy cross-shore. It’s going to be a bit chopped up. Thursday the 9th offers the best of a bad bunch early on. The morning sees a 4ft WNW swell with a slightly better 9-second period and clean cross-offshore winds from the SSW. The energy picks up a bit to 276. It’s surfable, but it’s ordinary. We’ll take it for what it is. The afternoon drops off to 4ft.

Friday the 10th and Saturday the 11th are poor. The swell drops away to under 3ft. From Sunday the 12th through to Tuesday the 15th, we’re looking at tiny waves, mostly under 2ft. A lot of cross-onshore wind and no juice in the water. That’s a real long stretch of nothing.

Now, for the second week, there’s a flicker of something a bit different, but don’t get too excited. On Monday the 14th and Tuesday the 15th, we see a very long-period groundswell from the SW—17 to 19 seconds. The wave energy bumps up into the moderate range, hitting 194 on the 14th afternoon. The problem is the size is tiny, just 2ft. That’s a lot of energy for a tiny wave. Because it’s such a long period, La Jolla Cove, being a reef and point setup, might actually see these waves stand up a little better than a beach break, but it’s still going to be small and weak. The wind is a light cross-onshore, so it won't be glassy.

Further out, on Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th, we get a stronger pulse from the SW. The swell height pushes up to 3ft with an 18-17 second period. The energy readings are strong, hitting 604 on the Saturday morning and 639 on the Sunday morning. That’s the most powerful we see. But the wind is the killer. It’s onshore from the NW both days. For a spot that needs offshore to be good, this turns it into a bit of a mess. For the more experienced crew, there might be a few sneaky ones in the afternoon on Saturday the 18th when the wind drops to a light cross-onshore, with energy at 422. It’s marginal.

The rest of the period, from the 20th onward, falls away again. Tiny surf, light wind, but nothing with any push.

Honest truth? There’s no standout session in this whole 16-day run. For beginners, the early part of the second week is small, but the wind is messy. For experts, the long-period groundswell around the 18th and 19th has the most power, but the wind is wrong. The best call for a paddle is probably Thursday morning the 9th. It’s the most consistent with clean wind, even if it’s just a knee-high runner. Keep the expectations at ground level, folks.

Rusty.

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