Manhattan Beach and Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here, checkin' in with the local scoop for Manhattan Beach and Pier. The water is a toasty 74°, which is a whopping 8° warmer than normal for this time of year – we're talkin' a seriously warm ocean, almost like bathwater, so you might not even need a spring suit.

The next 16 days are a real mixed bag, and honestly, there's a lot of waiting around. We've got a solid, long-period groundswell rollin' in from the SSW, but the issue is the wind. The first week is largely a write-off with onshore and cross-onshore breezes messin' up what little swell we have. The surf is small, mostly around 1 ft to 3 ft, with weak to moderate wave energy (reading between 113 and 459). The combination of small size and poor wind means most sessions are a no-go.

We do have a couple of standout windows that are worth pointing your board at. The first real highlight is the morning of Friday, September 4th. The swell is a clean 3 ft from the SSW with a nice long period of 17 seconds, offering moderate energy (491). The wind is light and cross-offshore from the SSE, which should keep things clean and lined up. This is about as good as it gets in this stretch.

The other session to keep an eye on is the morning of Saturday, September 5th. It's a similar story: 3 ft of SSW groundswell with a 16-second period and moderate energy (363). The wind forecast is glassy, and when it's like that, the waves will be smooth as silk. That's a primo window for a longboard or a funboard.

Then there's a bit of a drought. From the 6th through the 10th, it's back to marginal or poor conditions. The morning of Monday, September 7th, shows a glimmer with a clean, cross-offshore wind, but the swell is a bit smaller at 2 ft. The next real chance comes on the morning of Friday, September 11th, with clean conditions again, but the swell drops to 2 ft.

For the second week, the outlook gets a bit more uncertain. The swell is predicted to stay small, with a few mornings like the 11th offering clean cross-off winds, but the energy is very low. The rest of the period is a mix of poor conditions.

So, the bottom line: don't get too excited about the next two weeks. The water is warm, but the waves are mostly a challenge. Your best bets are the mornings of September 4th and 5th. If you can get out then, you'll find some clean, shoulder-high waves. The rest of the time, it's either too small or too choppy.

Rusty.

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