Long Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here. Let’s cut through the noise and look at the next couple of weeks for Long Beach. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, but there are definitely some windows to get wet.

We start off on Friday morning, August 7th, with some decent size on the cards. Swell is coming from the southwest at 12ft with a 14-second period, so there’s plenty of push. The energy is strong, clocking in at 4684. The wind is light and cross-shore, which isn't ideal but it's workable. Water temp is sitting at 58°, which is a bit colder than average for this time of year, so you'll want the hood and booties. It’s a bit of a mixed bag tide-wise, but there are waves to be had. The afternoon cleans up nicely though. Wind swings to a light cross-offshore, the swell bumps up to a 15-second period (5438 energy), and it’s looking clean. This is a solid call for the experienced crew.

Saturday the 8th sees the morning start a little messy with onshore wind, but the afternoon is where it’s at. The SSE wind picks up to 16 mph, going offshore, and we’ve got 13ft of southwest swell, 14 seconds of period, and strong energy at 5611. That's a proper wall of water. It’ll be big and powerful, so this is not one for the beginners. Long Beach is a sandbar, so a big, long-period swell like this can get a bit tricky, but for the guys who know their way around, it’ll be on.

Sunday the 9th is a day for the strong paddlers only. That offshore wind is cranking at 25 mph, making it clean but really hard to get out the back. Wave height is still solid at 10-11ft, but the effort-to-reward ratio is going to be off. The energy is moderate at 2959 and 3289.

We then hit a bit of a lull from Monday the 10th through the middle of next week. The swell drops right down. We’re looking at smaller, weaker surf in the 4ft to 8ft range with lower period energy as well. Bide your time, work on your fins, or just go for a paddle. There are a few fun moments, like Tuesday afternoon the 11th, which has light offshore winds and a short-period swell, but it’s nothing to get overly excited about.

Now, looking further out, there's a promising stretch around Wednesday the 12th and Thursday the 13th. The swell fills back in with a longer period. Wednesday afternoon has 7ft of SW swell at 17 seconds (2704 energy) and light, clean cross-offshore winds. Thursday afternoon looks even better with 7ft of WSW swell at 16 seconds and super light, clean conditions. These are the days to circle for the middle part of the week. The longer period (over 15 seconds) is a bit of a caveat for a sandbar, but these look like the cleanest, most user-friendly waves of the week.

After that, the forecast gets a bit mushy again right through the weekend and into the following week. We’ll see onshore winds and inconsistent, weaker swell. Nothing really doing until we get to the 21st.

That Friday the 21st is where the real standout is. The morning sees a jump back up to 12ft of W swell with moderate offshore winds (2585 energy). Then the afternoon is the one to watch. A solid 16ft of WSW swell is forecast with a 13-second period, and the energy just explodes to 8316. That’s a seriously strong pulse of energy. Winds will be moderate and cross-offshore, so it should be big, angry, and powerful. This is only for the experts, no question.

The weekend of the 22nd and 23rd will still have plenty of size but the wind turns gnarly and offshore, making it a battle. The 22nd has 28 mph offshore winds, which is wild. It’s a skunk for everyone but the most seasoned charger. The swell is still there at 12ft in the morning and 8ft in the afternoon, but with those winds, the paddling will be brutal. Honestly, on those days with this kind of wind and wave size on a sandbar, it might be more fun for the kite crew than for us paddle surfers.

So, to sum it up: the best bets are the afternoons of Saturday the 8th, Wednesday the 12th and Thursday the 13th, but the real standout, the one to keep an eye on, is the afternoon of Friday the 21st of August. It's a long way out, so treat it as promising but with a grain of salt. Forecasts can change, but the potential is definitely there.

Stay stoked.

Rusty.

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