Long Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s break down the next couple of weeks.

The pattern kicks off with a solid run of clean, good-quality surf, then gets blown out by strong winds before a messy fade. The best window is early on, but after that, it’s a waiting game.

Starting Monday, August 31st, we’ve got a moderate 7ft WSW swell at Long Beach (sandbar). The water’s a bit colder than usual for the time of year, sitting at 58°. Winds are offshore and light, so it’s clean and rideable. The combined energy is moderate at 1045, with an 11-second period. A solid start, but the real prize is coming.

Tuesday morning, September 1st, is the one. Long Beach goes glassy with a 10ft SW swell (13-second period) and a strong combined energy of 3112. This is powerful, clean surf for experienced surfers only—too big for beginners. The afternoon holds at 12ft, still clean with a cross-offshore breeze. This is the best on offer. Wednesday the 2nd keeps the quality going with 10ft surf and clean offshore winds.

But Thursday, September 3rd, things turn ugly. A near gale hits from the SSE at 34 mph, and while the swell jumps to 16ft, the conditions are a mess. The combined energy is massive at 5245, but it’s a write-off for paddle surfing. More of a kite session.

The strong wind sticks around through Friday and Saturday the 4th and 5th, with gale-force cross-offshore winds slapping a 10ft to 8ft SE swell into a messy state. The period drops to 7-8 seconds, so it’s weak, short-period windswell. Not worth it.

Sunday the 6th and Monday the 7th are still marginal, with strong breezes. By Monday afternoon, the wind swings offshore and the swell drops to 4ft (11 seconds, energy 714), giving a brief, clean window, but it’s small.

From Tuesday the 8th onward, it’s a long fade. The swell drops under 3ft, and the energy is weak. A few tiny, clean days around the 9th and 10th, but just ankle-to-knee-high dribble. A new pulse of 5ft WSW swell arrives on Friday the 11th, with offshore winds in the afternoon, building to a 7ft to 8ft groundswell on Saturday the 12th (13-second period, energy up to 1950). That’s promising, but winds freshen up again on Sunday the 13th, making it lumpy. The final days show a small, glassy window on the 14th, but it’s blown out again by the 15th.

The standout is Tuesday morning, September 1st at Long Beach—that glassy, 10ft SW groundswell is the session to circle. The early part of the second week (the 11th and 12th) is worth watching, but it’s less certain.

Rusty.

Read more