Lincoln City Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin’ for ya.

Alright, pull up a log and listen. The next 16 days for Lincoln City are lookin’ pretty bleak, I gotta be honest. We’ve got a few windows where the swell tries to push through, but the wind just keeps messin’ it up. Most of the time it’s either cross-shore or cross-onshore, and that chop is gonna have you feelin’ like you’re in a washing machine. The water’s 53° – that’s about 6° colder than usual for this time of year, so that’s a major shock to the system. You’ll be wantin’ a thick hood and gloves.

The first real chance to paddle out isn’t until Thursday, August 20th. The morning will see some chest-high waves at Lincoln City (beach and reef). The swell is 5 ft from the WNW with a period of 11 seconds, so it’s got some okay energy (677) behind it. The wind is onshore from the WNW at 6 mph, which is a bit messy, but it’s the best we’ve got for a while. The afternoon drops to 4 ft, and the wind swings to a cross-onshore from the NW. Still nothing special, but it’s surfable if you’re desperate.

Friday, August 21st, is more of the same – small and choppy. There’s a real window of nothing from Saturday, August 22nd, all the way through to the end of the month. We’re talkin’ a solid 10-day stretch of junk. Mostly sub-3 ft waves, strong cross-shore winds, and the energy is all in the 200-400 range – weak, weak, weak. The exception is the very end of the month. On Sunday, August 30th, the afternoon sees a bump of 6 ft from the NW, but it’s short period (8 seconds) and cross-onshore. That’s more of a choppy mess than a surf.

The one true standout, if you can wait, is on Thursday, September 3rd – but that’s two weeks away, so don’t book the trip just yet. The morning shows a solid 4 ft from the WNW with a very long 16-second period (742). That’s proper groundswell. The wind is a light cross-shore from the NNW at 9 mph, which is workable. The afternoon gets even bigger – 7 ft from the WNW, but the period drops to 14 seconds and the wind picks up to 16 mph cross-shore. That’s big enough for experts only (over 8 ft is a no-go), and the chop will be real. Still, that morning session on the 3rd is the best lookin’ wave in the whole forecast.

Overall, the outlook is poor. There’s a big gap of no good surf from the 22nd to the 30th. The only two worth mentionin’ are the morning of the 20th and the morning of September 3rd. The latter is the pick of the bunch, but it’s a long way off and the wind could change.

Rusty.

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