Morro Rock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, it’s Rusty here. I’ve looked over the charts for the next couple of weeks, and I gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch ahead. We’re in for a long, frustrating run of just not much to get excited about.

The first real bit of surf we see is a tiny pulse of long-period energy on the morning of Monday the 24th of August. We’re talking a combo of swells giving a combined energy of 291 (moderate), but the swell height is a measly 2ft from the SW with a period of 18 seconds. That’s a groundswell, but it’s so small it’s barely pushing. The wind is onshore at 6 mph, which is gonna keep it messy. The forecast is calling it marginal at best, and honestly, that’s being generous.

From there, it’s a brutal stretch. We go through days of poor surf conditions with combined energy readings bouncing between 154 and 392, but it’s all junk. The swell is coming from the WNW, but the period stays short, between 6 and 8 seconds, and the wind is a constant cross-on or onshore, ruining any chance of a clean face. On Tuesday the 25th, the wind picks up, and we get a bit more energy (374 on the afternoon), but it’s still a choppy, short-period mess.

We finally get a bit of a bump in size starting around Thursday the 27th of August. The swell picks up to 5ft with a 7-second period, but the wind is a nasty cross-on from the NW at 9 mph. The combined energy is a decent 433 (moderate), but the quality is just poor. This pattern holds right through the end of the month and into the first week of September. The size fluctuates, hitting 7ft on the afternoon of the 31st of August, and even 8ft on the afternoon of the 2nd of September (combined energy 745 – strong), but the wind is always on it, and the period stays short. The surf is going to be a wall of whitewater, not a wave you can ride.

The most notable event in the whole forecast is the afternoon of Thursday the 3rd of September. We see a big spike in swell, with a 10ft wave from the WNW, and the combined energy jumps to 1229 (very strong). That is a serious amount of water moving. But – and it’s a big but – the period is still only 8 seconds, and the wind is onshore at 9 mph. For a spot like Morro Rock, which is a reef and rock setup, this kind of short-period, onshore, heavy swell is going to be a washing machine. It’s going to be a huge, dangerous, and messy. The forecast even calls it marginal. This is expert-only territory, and honestly, it looks more like a kite surfing day than a paddle surfing day. The conditions are just too blown out.

The very end of the forecast, on the 6th of September, we see a shift. The swell drops to 3ft to 4ft, but the period finally stretches out to 13 seconds. Combined energy is again moderate. We get a light onshore breeze of 6 mph. It’s still marginal, but it’s the closest thing to a clean-looking window we’ve had. The water temperature is sitting at 62°F with a 0.0° anomaly, so it’s average for the time of year.

Look, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. This is a rough run. The consistent pattern of onshore winds and short-period swell is going to keep Morro Rock looking pretty average. The big swell on the 3rd is a spectacle, but not a surfing one. The long-range stuff on the 6th is the only glimmer of hope, but it’s a long way off and the confidence is low. For now, keep your gear in the car and wait for a better window.

Rusty

Read more