Nauset Light Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's be straight about Nauset Light Beach.

Honestly, my friend, this is a grim outlook for the next two weeks. From now right through until the end of the month, we are staring down the barrel of a flat spell. The waves are tiny – we are talking knee-to-waist high at absolute best, with most of the period seeing surf under 2 ft. The combined swell energy is weak, barely cracking double digits or hovering in the low sixties at best. There's just no punch to anything.

For the first ten days, from August 18th all the way through August 27th, it’s a write-off. The swell is coming from the ESE and SE, but with periods as low as 5 to 8 seconds, it's weak, short-period wind swell. The winds are all over the place – onshore, cross-onshore, nothing clean enough to make something out of nothing. The odd morning or afternoon might look "clean" on paper, but with wave heights consistently at 1 ft to 1 ft, it's barely a ripple.

Now, late in the run, around the end of August and the very start of September, things get a bit more interesting, but it’s not for the faint of heart.

On Friday the 28th of August, we finally see some height. By the afternoon, there's a 4 ft swell from the NNE, with a short 5-second period. The combined energy is finally moderate at (126), but the wind is howling onshore from the ENE at 19 mph. It's going to be a messy, choppy closeout at this exposed sandbar. This isn't a beginner wave at 4 ft on a beach break with onshore wind. If you're an expert looking for a punishing, bumpy session, you might find something, but the quality is going to be poor.

The real standout, and it's a long-range promise, falls on the morning of Sunday, the 30th of August. A significant long-period groundswell from the E rolls in with a 16-second period, pushing combined swell energy to a very strong (470). Swell heights are around 2 ft. Here's the caveat: the wind is a brutal cross-onshore, a near gale at 34 mph. For a sandbar like Nauset Light Beach, a long-period swell like that (over 15 seconds) can make for a very straight, fast wall that’s hard to get into on a beach break. The wind is going to tear it to pieces. The set-up looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer, honestly.

By Monday the 31st of August, the swell drops again to 1 ft, but the wind swings light and variable. It’s more of a cleanup day than a surfing day.

So, after a long, long flat spell, the only real pulse of energy is that Sunday the 30th, but it’s a challenging, blown-out groundswell for experts only. The rest of the time, leave the board at home.

Rusty.

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