Laguna Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s shaping up for the next couple of weeks. We’ve got a bit of a lean stretch ahead, with some small windows of opportunity, but nothing that’s going to blow your socks off. The first real chance to get wet is this Saturday morning, the 29th of August, so we’ve got a little gap of quiet before that.

The overall pattern is a long, drawn-out run of small, inconsistent swell with tricky wind. The opening weekend offers the best hope, but it’s touch and go. The swell is coming from the SSW, which is a decent direction for Laguna Beach (reef) – it’s a fairly exposed spot that likes a WNW swell, so this is a bit off its optimum. On Saturday morning, the 29th, we’ve got a clean 3ft SSW groundswell with a very long 17-second period pushing through. The combined energy is moderate at 642. The wind is light from the SW, so it’s onshore but light – not ideal, but it’ll be rideable. The water temp is about average for this time of year. Saturday afternoon is similar, with a 4ft SSW swell (16-second period, 674 energy), but the wind shifts to a light W, still onshore. It’s marginal, but it’s the best we’ve got in the first week.

Sunday morning, the 30th, sees the swell drop to 3ft and the wind gets cross-onshore from the S, making it choppy. The score drops to zero. Sunday afternoon is a little better with a light WSW onshore, but the swell is down to 3ft. From Monday, the 31st, through to Wednesday, the 2nd of September, it’s a real struggle – tiny swell (1.0ft to 2ft) with poor wind and very low energy readings (121 to 71). Don’t bother.

Then, on Thursday morning, the 3rd of September, we get a brief glimmer. The wind goes glassy, the swell is 3ft from the SSW with a period of 12 seconds, and the energy is moderate at 585. The report says “glassy” – that’s magic. This is your standout window for the whole outlook. The break will be clean, but it’s only a 3ft swell, so it’s small. The crowd factor says “often,” so expect company. Thursday afternoon the wind goes back to cross-onshore and ruins it.

After that, it’s a long, bleak run. From Friday, the 4th, through Sunday, the 13th of September, the swell fluctuates between 0.7ft and 3ft, but the wind is almost always cross-onshore or onshore, and the energy rarely climbs above 600. There’s a spike on Tuesday, the 8th of September, with a 8ft SSW swell (11-second period, 1551 energy – strong energy), but the wind is a strong cross-shore from the SSE, then a near-gale from the SE. That 8ft is expert territory, but the wind will make it a washing machine. The report says “marginal” and “poor.” For a beach and reef setup, with that much wind, it’s honestly looking more interesting for kite surfing than a paddle session.

So, to sum it up: the only real standout is Thursday morning, the 3rd of September, at Laguna Beach, for a small, glassy session. It’s not big, but it’ll be clean. The rest of the month is mostly a write-off. Be patient.

Rusty

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