Latigo Canyon Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again, this time in feet and Fahrenheit for you.

Let’s break down the next 16 days at Latigo Canyon. Honestly, it’s a bit of a waiting game. The swell energy is there at times, but mostly it’s weak to moderate and the conditions are often messy. The water is way warmer than normal for this time of year – at 72°F with a 7°F anomaly, you might be fine in boardies or a shorty.

Wednesday, 12th August, is a total dud. The morning has a tiny 2ft SSW swell with a long 17-second period, but it’s an onshore breeze and the wave comment says “poor surf conditions.” The combined energy is only 196 – weak, gutless stuff. The afternoon is the same story: 2ft from the SSW with a cross-onshore wind. Zero out of ten.

Thursday, 13th August, doesn’t get any better. Same 2ft SSW swells, poor surf conditions, light onshore or cross-onshore winds. Nothing to write home about.

Friday, 14th August, shows a little life. The morning has a 2ft SSW groundswell with a very long 19-second period, and the energy bumps up to 403 (moderate). The wind is light offshore, making it clean. The wave comment says “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions” and scores a 1. It’s the first real glimmer, but it’s tiny. The afternoon picks up to 2ft from the SSW with a cross-shore breeze and a score of 2.

Saturday and Sunday (15th-16th August) are more of the same: marginal with 3ft to 3ft swells. The wind switches between light onshore and moderate cross-shore, keeping things choppy or rippled. The energy is moderate in the 400-500 range on Saturday, but the quality isn’t there for a good session. Sunday afternoon gets a moderate cross-chop from a 20 km/h west wind.

Monday, 17th August, is your best bet in the first week. The morning is still marginal with a 3ft SSW swell, but the afternoon turns clean. We get a 2ft SW swell, a light cross-offshore wind from the west at 20 km/h, and the wave comment reads “clean.” The combined energy is 275 (moderate). It’s not big, but that cross-offshore wind will groom the faces nicely at this point break. This is the first real standout.

From Tuesday, 18th August, through Saturday, 22nd August, we hit a long dry spell. The swell drops to 1ft to 2ft, the combined energy falls below 300 (weak to low-moderate), and the conditions are mostly poor or marginal with onshore or cross-onshore winds. That’s a solid five-day gap with nothing worth chasing.

Sunday, 23rd August, perks up a little. The morning shows a 1ft SW groundswell with a very long 19-second period, and the energy is 243 (moderate). With a light onshore wind, it’s still marginal, but the long period suggests some shape. The afternoon stays marginal with a cross-shore breeze. Monday, 24th August, offers another clean window in the afternoon: a 1ft SW swell with a light cross-offshore wind from the WNW. It’s only a 1 out of 10, but it’s clean.

The best of the whole outlook comes in the second week. Wednesday, 26th August, shows a 3ft to 3ft SW swell building. The combined energy hits 444 in the afternoon (moderate), and the wind turns cross-offshore from the west at 20 km/h, giving us clean conditions. That Wednesday afternoon is your true standout – the biggest swell of the period with the best wind. It’s a long-range call, so don’t bank on it, but keep an eye on it.

Thursday, 27th August, carries similar energy (combined energy 392-395) with a 3ft SW swell and a 15-second period. The morning has a light cross-onshore, but the afternoon glass offs with a slight onshore breeze from the south at 5 km/h, which is as close to glassy as we’ll get. Another solid option.

Overall, it’s a patchy 16 days with long quiet gaps. The first week is mostly a write-off except for Monday afternoon (17th August). The second week has more potential, especially Wednesday and Thursday (26th-27th August). For a point break like Latigo Canyon, those longer period groundswells (15-19 seconds) will wrap in nicely, but with such small heights, it’s really a longboard or funboard kind of stretch.

Stay patient, keep the wax on, and check back closer to the 26th.

Rusty.

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