Morro Rock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what Morro Rock has in store. Honestly, the next week and a half is a tough stretch for us paddle surfers. We’ve got a whole heap of days marked by onshore or cross-onshore winds and poor surf conditions, so you’ll need to be patient. The real standouts are tucked away at the very end of the forecast window.

From now through mid-September, it’s pretty grim. A light breeze from the WNW is blowing on Monday afternoon, with a tiny 1 ft NW swell at 8 seconds, but the conditions are poor. Tuesday and Wednesday offer nothing worth paddling out for, with small, weak swells and poor conditions.

Then, on Wednesday morning, the 9th of September, we get a sudden tease. A glassy southwesterly groundswell rolls in at 2 ft but with a very long 19-second period. The combined energy is moderate (380). It’s glassy, which is beautiful, but the swell is tiny. That’s the only decent window for a couple of weeks.

After that, it’s a slog. From Thursday the 10th right through to the 20th of September, the wind is almost constantly cross-onshore or onshore, ruining the shape. The swell sizes fluctuate between 2 ft and 8 ft, but the energy is all from short-period chop mixed with some longer period SW groundswell that gets blown out. The 12th and 13th of September see the swell push over 8 ft with moderate cross-onshore winds – that’s expert-level size but in poor, choppy conditions. It’s more interesting for kite surfing than a clean paddle session.

However, things start to look up on the 20th of September (Sunday morning). A light cross-onshore breeze comes in with a 3 ft SW groundswell at 19 seconds. The combined energy is strong (639), and it’s described as marginal, but that’s the best we’ve seen in a while.

The real highlight, and the one to circle on your calendar, is the 21st of September (Monday). Both morning and afternoon see clean, onshore winds (very light in the morning) with a 3 ft SW groundswell, still holding a long 17-18 second period. The combined energy is strong to very strong – 666 in the morning and 795 in the afternoon. This is a proper, long-period groundswell. Morro Rock is a fairly exposed spot, best suited to NW swells, but a clean, strong SW groundswell like this with light winds can still produce some well-shaped, powerful waves. The long period means it will wall up nicely on the reef there. Crowds are sometimes a factor, so get down early.

The Tuesday morning (22nd) after that is also marginal with light cross-onshore winds and a similar 3 ft SW groundswell (624 energy), but the wind is a bit more side-on. The afternoon falls back to poor conditions.

So, in short: suffer through the first week of poor wind and slop. Your best chance for a real session is a standout window on the 20th and especially the 21st of September, when a clean, long-period groundswell arrives with light winds. It’s a long-range call, so don’t bet the house on it, but it looks promising.

Stay patient, keep an eye on the horizon.

- Rusty

Read more