Moss Landing Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let’s break down what’s happening at Moss Landing.

Got to be honest with you, this 16-day stretch is a grind. The whole window is dominated by those cross-onshore winds from the WSW, which is just a killer for surf quality. The swell is coming from the WNW, but that wind direction is ruining every chance. The water temp is about average for the time of year, so nothing to note there.

The first real chance of anything is that Friday morning, July 31st. The swell is 4ft from the WNW with a period of 8 seconds, and the combined energy is moderate at 267. It’s still cross-on, but the conditions are called marginal, so maybe a few shifty ones. Saturday and Sunday the 1st and 2nd of August are more of the same – cross-on, messy. On Sunday the 2nd, the morning swell actually bumps up to 6ft with a 9-second period from the WNW, and the energy jumps to 490 (moderate), but the wind is still cross-on, so it’s gonna be a lumpy, choppy mess. Not a day you’d want to paddle out into.

Honestly, this whole setup looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer. The swell is there, but the quality is just not there for a clean wave.

We limp through the first week of August with the same story. The morning of Thursday, August 6th, sees the swell push up to 6ft with a 10-second period from the WNW, giving us a solid moderate energy reading of 624. But again, the wind is cross-on. The report is just "poor surf conditions." It’s a tease.

After that, the swell drops off a cliff. By Sunday, August 9th, we’re down to 2ft, and the period lengthens to 10 seconds, then 17 seconds. That’s a very long period groundswell, but it’s tiny. That long period would be better on a point break or reef, but at a fairly exposed beach spot like Moss Landing with cross-on wind, it’s just not gonna happen. The last few days, from the 10th to the 11th of August, we’re looking at 2ft swell with periods of 15 to 16 seconds. That’s all energy and no size.

There are no standouts here. The best surfer in the world wouldn’t get a decent wave in this run. The consistency is there, but the quality is dead. This kind of blank run is a bit more normal for the area when the wind just won’t cooperate. Forecasts can change, but for now, keep the board in the car.

Rusty.

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