Lincoln City Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let’s get into it. This stretch from Tuesday morning, August 4th, all the way through to Wednesday, August 19th, is a real mixed bag at Lincoln City. Honestly, for the first ten days, you’re looking at a lot of onshore or cross-shore wind and choppy, messy conditions. The real trouble is that the wind is just never quite right. There are a few moments where the numbers look okay, but the texture is off. The best of the run is definitely going to be around Thursday the 13th and Friday the 14th, but even that comes with a big caveat.

Let’s start with the beginning. Tuesday morning, August 4th, you’ve got a 5 ft swell from the NW, but it’s cross-shore and only packing 267 units of energy – weak stuff. The wind is a light breeze, so it’s not horrible, but the wave comment says “marginal” and the tide will mess with it. The whole first week is a drift. Wednesday the 5th bumps up to 6 ft, but the wind is cross-onshore and the chop is real. By Thursday the 6th, it’s smaller and still choppy. This pattern of marginal, poor surf, and cross-winds continues straight through the weekend and into the next week. There’s a weird little blip on Sunday the 9th where the swell drops to 1 ft from the SW with a very long 16-second period, but the energy is still weak (215) and the wind is cross-shore – that’s a lake-like ripple, not surf.

The first real glimmer of hope comes on Thursday morning, August 13th. The swell bumps up to 6 ft from the NW with an 8-second period, and the energy jumps to 538 – moderate energy. The wind is a light cross-shore breeze, which is about as good as it gets this whole run. This is the best on offer, but it’s still only marginal. The 6 ft is a fun size for an intermediate, but the short period (8 seconds) means it’ll be a bit soft and lumpy. Friday the 14th is similar, with 7 ft to 7 ft from the NW, but the wind goes cross-onshore, which ruins the surface. Over 7 ft with a choppy cross-onshore wind means it’s going to be a messy, churning wall – not great for a paddleboard, maybe more interesting for a kite.

The last few days, from Sunday the 16th through Wednesday the 19th, see a shift to longer-period groundswell (14 to 17 seconds), but the swell height is tiny (2 ft to 5 ft) and the wind is still cross-shore or cross-onshore. The 17-second period on Sunday the 16th will make it look like a glassy wall, but at 2 ft, it’s barely a knee-high ripple. The combined energy on Monday the 17th afternoon hits 954 (strong energy), but the swell is 5 ft from the WNW with a 13-second period, and the wind is a gentle cross-shore – that’s the best-looking wave of the whole run, but it’s over a week away and the forecast is less certain. If that holds, Lincoln City could have a clean, long-period groundswell wrapping in, but it’s a long shot.

In short, the whole 16 days is a hard sell. The only day that truly stands out is Thursday morning, August 13th, for the biggest swell with the lightest wind. After that, Monday the 17th afternoon looks promising if you’re a glass-half-full kind of surfer. Otherwise, it’s a lot of waiting.

Rusty, signing off.

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