Long Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s cut through the noise and look at what’s actually happening.

Honestly, I’m having a hard time getting excited for the next 16 days at Long Beach. The whole stretch is a bit of a mess. The wind is persistent from the east, sitting cross-on or even onshore most of the time, and it’s blowing fresh to moderate. That’s going to keep the surface lumpy, choppy, and just plain messy. There’s also a risk of thunderstorms in the first week, which adds to the vibe of not being worth the paddle out.

The swell is coming from the east-northeast and east, with a period hanging around 6 to 8 seconds, so it’s short-period, weak windswell. The combined energy starts at 353, which is moderate, then jumps to 615 and 671, before peaking at 1178 on Friday, 31 July – that’s strong energy. But with the wind tearing it apart, the quality is just poor. The water temperature is 84°F with a normal anomaly of 0.9°F, so it’s about average for the time of year, but that’s the only nice thing I can say.

The swell size bumps up to 6ft to 7ft in the first few days, which is more than 5ft, so it’s not for beginners, and when it hits 8ft on Thursday, 30 July, that’s getting into the expert-only zone. But again, the onshore wind ruins it.

There’s a slight change on Saturday, 1 August, when the wind swings more onshore from the southeast, but still moderate at 12-15 mph. The swell drops to 4ft-4ft, and energy drops to 260-297. Still poor conditions, though.

The second week, from 4 August onward, is a steady grind of moderate to fresh east winds, lumpy surf, and swell sizes bouncing between 3ft and 7ft. The energy stays moderate, mostly in the 100-300 range, with a few spikes to 471 and 522 on 7 and 13 August. But the periods are short – 6 to 8 seconds – so it’s weak, junk windswell. The best period we see is 10 seconds on 10 August, but the swell is tiny at 3ft, so it’s not going to do anything.

The break at Long Beach is exposed to the swell, and it’s inconsistent, which is typical for the area. But with the wind direction being wrong the whole time, and the swell being short-period and weak, there’s nothing to recommend. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, honestly.

To sum it up: there are no good surf options in the 16-day window. The wind is the enemy, the swell is weak and short, and the surface is going to be a mess. Sometimes you get a blank run like this in the area; it’s not unusual. But forecasts can change, so keep an eye on it.

Rusty.

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