Leffingwell Landing Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. It’s Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at the charts for Leffingwell Landing. Gotta be straight with you – this 16-day window is a real mixed bag, and for the most part, it’s a tough one to get excited about.

Right out of the gate, we’re looking at a few days of tiny, weak surf. The water temp is sitting at 60.6°F, which is about average for this time of year, so at least you won’t need a full Arctic suit. The opening days are all marginal, with the swell barely pushing 2.6ft to 3.3ft. The energy is all over the place, from a weak 334 to a moderate 528, but the wave quality is just questionable. It’s not worth paddling out for much more than a splash. The wind is light, which is nice, but there’s just no push.

The first real glimmer of something happens on the 15th and 16th of August. The swell starts to build a little – we’re talking 3.3ft to 3.6ft from the SSW, with a period around 16 seconds. That’s a proper groundswell, and the energy is jumping up into the 700s, which is a solid moderate push. The wind is light and offshore, which is exactly what you want to hear. It’s still not big, but it’s clean and has some shape. This is probably the best chance for a decent, if not super memorable, session on offer in the first week.

But don’t get too comfortable. Around the 17th and 18th, the wind starts to swing onshore and pick up, and the whole thing gets chopped up. The score drops to zero, and it’s just poor. We get a bit of a lull, but then things get interesting in a different way.

Now, for the end of the window, things get a whole lot bigger, but not necessarily better. From the 20th of August onwards, we see a big jump in swell height. We’re talking 7.2ft on the 20th afternoon, then 5.9ft and 6.9ft on the 21st and 22nd, with a short period of just 7 seconds. That’s not a clean groundswell; that’s just a lot of wind-driven, messy energy. And with the wind blowing onshore, it’s going to be a full-on washing machine. The energy readings are strong, in the 700s, but it’s all for nothing if the surf is blown out. This is more interesting for the kite surfers than us paddle surfers. It’s too big and raw for a beginner, and even for experts, it’s going to be a battle with the wind.

So, the standout of the whole window is that little clean window on the 15th and 16th. It’s not the biggest swell, but it’s got the right direction, the right period, and the wind is perfect. Everything after that is either too small or too messy. The long-range stuff is promising in size, but it’s a week and a half out, so treat it with caution.

Stay salty.

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