Lincoln City Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. We’ve got a 16-day look at Lincoln City, and to be straight with you, it’s a bit of a slow burner. The water is sitting at 53°F right now, which is a whopping 5°F colder than usual for this time of year – that’s really unusual, so you’ll want a thick suit.

The first week and a half is pretty much a write-off for any decent surf. We’re stuck with a consistent cross and cross-onshore wind, mostly from the NNW, and the swell is a mix of short-period, weak NW windswell. The combined energy is barely cracking 200-300 (weak to moderate), and the wave quality is poor across the board. You’ll see a bit of height around 3ft to 4ft, but with that short period (5-8 seconds) and messy wind, it’s not going to be fun. There’s a glimmer on the morning of the 13th with a 5ft NW swell, but the cross-on wind just kills it.

The real standout, the only one worth planning for, arrives on Tuesday the 18th of August. The morning is looking glassy with a calm wind and a solid 3ft swell from the west. The combined energy jumps to 576 (moderate), and the period is a nice 14 seconds. That’s proper groundswell energy. The afternoon cleans up even more with a light cross-offshore breeze, the swell bumps up to 4ft, and the energy hits 628. This is the best it’s going to get. The swell direction from the west is a good match for the optimum direction here. For a beach and reef setup, that longer period (12-14 seconds) can sometimes make things a bit straight, but with those clean conditions, it’s a no-brainer.

Overall, there’s a long gap of poor conditions from now until the 18th. The 18th is the clear winner. The days after that on the 19th and 20th drop off again with more cross-shore wind and weaker energy. Don’t hold your breath for anything else.

Rusty.

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