Long Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get straight into it. Looking at the charts for Long Beach, I’ll tell you right now – it’s a tough stretch. There’s nothing that’s going to have you sprinting for your board. The whole 16-day window is pretty much one long, frustrating gap with zero decent surf on offer. The waves are there, but the wind is just going to have its way with them the entire time, chopping everything up.

Right from Tuesday the 1st of September, the water’s warm at 85°, which is pretty much spot-on for this time of year, nothing weird there. But that’s where the good news ends. We’ve got a moderate cross-onshore breeze out of the east at 16 mph making a mess of the 4ft of swell that’s trying to show up. It’s a poor surf situation from the get-go, and that sets the tone.

The whole first week is the same story. Every morning and afternoon, day after day, it’s that cross-onshore wind. The swell hangs around that 3ft to 3ft mark, occasionally nudging up, but the energy in the water is weak to moderate, with readings mostly in the 127 to 249 bracket. It’s just messy. By the 6th, the wind picks up to a fresh 19 mph, and the swell gets a little more push, but the surf quality is still poor and lumpy.

We do see things start to get a bit more interesting size-wise. Around Tuesday the 8th, the swell starts to climb, hitting 6ft in the morning and 7ft in the afternoon. The energy is now solidly moderate, around 597, moving into strong numbers of 638 by Wednesday morning. So there’s definitely more water moving. But here’s the kicker, it’s still coming from the east and the wind is hammering it from the same direction. That steady 19-22 mph cross-onshore is going to turn that 7ft of swell into a complete mess. That’s above the size where beginners would want to be anyway, but even for the experienced crew, it’s going to be a battle against a bumpy, choppy surface. Not the kind of day you’re stoked to paddle out into.

This windy pattern holds through the middle of the month. The swell stays in that 5ft to 6ft range for a few days, with strong energy readings of 400 to 600+. There’s no shortage of ocean movement, but it’s all just being torn apart by that relentless east wind. It’s not doing anyone any favours.

Towards the end of the first week and into the weekend, the swell starts to fade back down. By the 13th, we’re back to around 4ft to 4ft, and the energy drops back to a moderate 204 to 254. The wind, still cross-onshore, backs off slightly to 16 mph, but it’s not enough to clean things up.

The back half of the period from the 14th onward sees the wave heights dropping off again, down to that 2ft to 3ft range. The period is also short, mostly 7 to 8 seconds, so it’s not going to have any punch. The energy levels are back down to that weak-to-moderate zone, with numbers like 136 and 203.

Even the final days, the 15th and 16th, offer nothing. The wind is still blowing onshore, and we might even see a risk of a thunderstorm on that Wednesday morning. With swell that small and wind that messy, it’s just not worth your time.

The reason there are no good options on the table is that this break is inconsistent as it is. When it’s this consistently bad with the wind, it’s a normal thing. The forecast can always change, but right now this is a blank run. If you’re desperate, maybe look at this as a week for something else. That 7ft of swell with a strong 19 mph cross-onshore wind and a beach setup – that’s looking more like a kite-surfing day than a paddle-surfing day.

Stay patient.

Rusty.

Read more