La Preciosa Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about La Preciosa. This is a top-shelf reef break for advanced crew only, and it’s super consistent, but the next 16 days are a real mixed bag.

Looking at the overall pattern, we’ve got a stretch of very ordinary, poor, or marginal surf for the bulk of the period. The first real glimmer of anything worthwhile won't come until late in the run. You’re looking at a long wait, with several days of nothing special before we get a couple of notable windows. Water temp is sitting at a warm 84°F, which is about 1°F above normal for this time of year, so it’s pretty average – nothing wild there.

The best bet on the whole forecast falls on Thursday morning, the 4th of September. We’ve got a clean, 3ft E swell with a moderate offshore breeze from the ESE at 12 mph. That wind direction is exactly what the reef needs to clean up. It’s not a big swell, but the conditions look right for a nice, lined-up session on the reef. The combined energy is a weak 86, so don’t expect heavy power, but for this spot, clean conditions are king.

There’s another potential standout on Thursday morning, the 3rd of September. That morning shows a 4ft E swell with a gentle offshore breeze from the ESE at just 9 mph. The combined energy is moderate at 100. That’s a solid, small-to-middling day with glassy potential, making it another good option.

Before that early September action, the outlook is rough. Between the 20th of August and the 2nd of September, the surf is almost universally rated as poor or marginal. The swell is small, mostly around 1ft to 5ft, with short periods of 6 to 8 seconds. On the 26th afternoon, that 5ft E swell ramps up combined energy to 373, but it’s crossed up with fresh winds, so the quality will be junk. The same goes for the 27th, 28th, 29th, and 30th – the swell pushes 5ft to 5ft with moderate energy in the 300s, but the winds are all cross-off or worse, keeping the surface messy. You’ll want to avoid these days unless you’re a die-hard.

For Thursday the 20th of August, the morning is actually clean with a moderate offshore, but the swell is only 2ft with a short 8-second period, so you’re just getting tiny, weak waves. The days between the 21st and 25th are all cross-off winds with tiny waves under 4ft.

If you’re a beginner, keep in mind the swell never really exceeds 5ft in this period, so it’s never too big for you, but the quality is so poor it’s not worth paddling out. For advanced surfers, the two Thursday mornings in early September are your best shots. The spot is exposed to the E, and the optimum swell direction for La Preciosa is N, so the E swell we get isn’t perfect direction-wise, but with offshore wind, it’ll still produce. This break can get busy – crowds are listed as “sometimes,” so expect company on the clean days.

There’s a long gap with no real recommendations from the 20th of August through the 1st of September. The only decent windows are those specific mornings. The longer period swells around 9 seconds on the 26th and 1st of September might offer slightly better shape, but still not enough to beat the wind issues.

Stay patient, boys. The end of the stretch is the time to point the car toward La Preciosa. Rusty out.

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