Long Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’ll level with you. Right now, and for the next sixteen days, it’s a bit of a tough stretch for Long Beach. The wind is mostly hanging in from the east, which is cross-onshore, and that’s just not giving us the clean faces we want. The surf is on offer, but it’s wrapped up in messy conditions.

Looking at the immediate picture, Thursday the 23rd of July is small and choppy. Swell is around 3 ft from the ENE, with a short period of 6 seconds, and the combined energy is weak at 100. The water’s sitting at 83°F, which is pretty much average for this time of year, so no surprises there. The east wind is at 16 mph, cross-onshore, and it’s just making a mess of things.

Friday the 24th bumps up a bit, swell hits 5 ft from the ENE, period lifts to 7-8 seconds, and the energy climbs to 373. But that wind is still a problem – 16-19 mph from the east, cross-onshore, lumpy. It’s the same story through the weekend and into next week. The swell sticks around 4 ft to 6 ft, but the cross-onshore wind never really lets up.

We get a bit more size from the 29th of July through the 30th, with swell pushing 8 ft from the E and ENE, period hitting 8-9 seconds, and the energy jumping to 736-755. That’s moderate to strong energy, but the wind is still fresh and cross-onshore. At 8 ft, it’s getting into the too-big-for-beginners range, and the lumpy conditions mean it’s really only for the experienced guys who don’t mind a battle.

After that, the swell gradually backs off through the first week of August, dropping to 3 ft-6 ft, with periods staying short at 6-7 seconds. The wind stays stubbornly east, cross-onshore, so even when the swell is smaller, the surface is just choppy and lumpy. The energy values drop into the low hundreds, so it’s weak.

I’m not going to sugarcoat it – there’s no standout session in this whole run. The wind is the killer. If you’re desperate, and you’ve got a kite, the bigger days from the 29th to the 31st of July might be more interesting for that than for paddle surfing. But for a clean wave on a longboard or a shortboard? It’s a lean period. The spot is inconsistent anyway, so a blank run like this isn’t out of the ordinary for the area. Forecasts can change, but right now, I’d be checking the wind forecast before you even bother waxing up.

Rusty.

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