Leffingwell Landing Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty coming to you from the coast. Let’s look at what we’ve got on the cards for Leffingwell Landing over the next couple of weeks.

Looking at the whole picture, it’s a pretty tough outlook. The first week or so is dominated by onshore wind and messy conditions, with only a few very brief windows of clean surf. The real standout is a tiny, clean window on the morning of Friday the 17th. After that, the swell drops right off, but we get a more consistent run of clean, glassy conditions from the 23rd, though the waves are small. There’s a big gap of poor surf and 'poor surf conditions' in the early forecast that you’ll have to sit through.

The only true standout here is Friday morning, the 17th of July. The wind will be glassy from the SSW at just 3 mph, making for near-perfect conditions. The swell is a clean 4 ft from the WNW with a period of 8 seconds. The wave energy is moderate (594). For a reef break like Leffingwell Landing, this is a premium moment. However, it is a consistent spot that can draw a crowd, so expect company. You’ll want to be on it early.

The rest of the first week looks like a write-off. From Tuesday the 14th through to Thursday the 16th, it’s all onshore, cross-onshore wind with lumpy, choppy conditions. The swell hits 8 ft on Thursday, but with 19 mph cross-onshore wind, it’s a real mess. That’s expert-only, and even then, it’s not pleasant.

After the Friday morning highlight, we drop into small swell. Saturday the 18th through to Tuesday the 21st has waves mostly under 3 ft coming from the SW and SSW with long periods of 16-18 seconds. The winds are largely onshore, and the reports say 'marginal surf forecast' or 'poor surf conditions'. It’s not worth paddling out unless you get a window in the morning on Monday the 20th, which sees glassy SSW wind at 3 mph and 3 ft of swell.

Now, for the second week, things get interesting for the patient surfer. The morning of Wednesday the 23rd of July is a sleeper hit. Glassy conditions with zero wind, clean from the NE, and a 3 ft SSW swell at a solid 14-second period. Wave energy is moderate (526). It’s a long-period groundswell, which will wrap nicely into this reef. Keep it in the back of your mind.

The following days from the 24th to the 29th continue the theme of small, clean, but marginal surf. Swells are from the SSW and SW with very long periods between 14 and 24 seconds. The wind is light and often onshore or glassy, but the wave heights are just 2 ft to 4 ft. The energy is moderate, reaching 1002 on Tuesday the 28th afternoon. This is not the kind of surf that will get your heart racing, but for a longboard or a funboard, there will be some shape.

Overall, the water at Leffingwell Landing is running much colder than normal for July, about -2°C below average, so bring a good 4/3 wetsuit. The northern part of the California coast can be like that.

Rusty out.

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