Moss Landing Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's get into it for Moss Landing. I've gotta be straight with you — it's a rough stretch ahead on the Central Coast. We've got a long, drawn-out period of poor conditions to work through before we see anything worth paddling out for. The water’s running about 62°, which is a touch warmer than normal for late August — a nice little bonus if you don't mind the lack of waves.

The outlook starts on Wednesday the 26th of August, and honestly, it’s grim. Tiny 2ft swell from the SW with a long 16-second period, but it's onshore wind and the energy is weak (235). It's just not happening. That trend sticks with us for days. We're dealing with a mix of 2ft to 3ft waves for the rest of August, and the wind just won't cooperate — mostly cross-on or onshore, choppy conditions, and often coming in from the WSW. The combined swell energy bounces around from weak (119) to moderate (261), but with the wind messing it up, none of it is surfable.

We hit Friday the 28th morning and I'll give you a glimmer — a glassy 3ft WNW swell. But the period is a short 7 seconds and the wave comment says it’s just 'surfable but very ordinary.' That window closes fast too, as the wind swings back onshore for the afternoon. Saturday the 29th through the end of the month is more of the same: 3ft to 5ft waves, but that persistent cross-on wind just kills the quality.

Moving into September, it doesn't get much better. From Tuesday the 1st all the way through to Tuesday the 8th of September, we're staring at a flat spell. Swell heights barely nudge 2ft to 3ft, but the winds are still cross-on and the wave comments are all "poor surf conditions." The energy readings stay below 100 most of the time — that's as weak as it gets. There is a moment on the morning of Wednesday the 9th of September where a long-period 17-second SW groundswell builds to 2ft with light WNW wind and a decent energy reading (235), but the report still calls it poor. The period is long, which can mean better shape in theory, but with only 2ft on offer there's just not enough push.

The Standout (if you can call it that): The absolute best of a bad bunch is probably the morning of Friday the 4th of September. We see a 3ft WNW swell with a 10-second period and moderate energy (157). The wind is a light cross-on from the WSW at 6 mph. It's the most promising-looking window in a sea of duds. But honestly, even that is a stretch.

Bottom line: Moss Landing is in a prolonged funk. For most of this 16-day run, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. The consistent cross-on wind and lack of any significant clean swell mean you’re better off waiting for the forecasts to change. It doesn't tend to stay this poor forever, but this particular run is a serious test of patience.

Rusty.

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