Laguna Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a long, honest look at what Laguna Beach has got cookin’ for us over the next couple weeks. Gotta be straight with you – this isn’t a period to get your hopes up. We’re looking at a long stretch of small, messy, inconsistent surf with very few windows that are even worth paddling out for.

Right off the bat, the first real swell we see is on Thursday, September 10th. It’s not big, only about 3 ft, but it’s coming from a decent SW direction. The swell has a long, clean period of 17 seconds in the morning, dropping to 16 in the arvo, which gives it some decent energy. That long period is a classic groundswell signature, which can mean better shape but also longer waits between sets. The wind is a light, cross-shore S breeze at about 6 mph all day – that’s a major positive, keeping the surface clean with just a few light ripples. This Thursday is probably your best shot in the entire 16-day window, but it’s honestly just a marginal, okay session – not a stand-out.

The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing unusual to report there.

From Friday the 11th right through until late in the month, the forecast is mostly a bummer. The swell drops off a cliff, mostly hanging around 1 to 2 ft. The period gets short and inconsistent, down to 7 seconds on the Sunday morning the 13th – that’s pure windswill, no power behind it. Winds are almost constantly cross or cross-onshore, sometimes picking up to a moderate breeze, which just chops everything up. There’s a stretch from Friday the 11th right through to Saturday the 19th of September where you’d be hard-pressed to find a single decent wave. That’s a solid week-plus of poor to marginal conditions.

There’s a tiny flicker on Sunday the 20th of September. The swell bumps back up to about 2-3 ft, still from the SW, with a period of 18 seconds. The energy is more promising. The wind stays a gentle cross-shore, so it won’t be totally blown out. But it’s still small and marginal, and the crowds at Laguna Beach can be a factor when there’s even a hint of a wave. The following days through the 25th just fizzle back into poor conditions with rain showers and even stronger winds.

Bottom line: Don’t hold your breath. The only day that might give you a few halfway-decent, clean lines is Thursday the 10th of September. The rest of this outlook is a waiting game. Forecasts can change, but right now, this is a bleak run.

Rusty.

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