Nauset Light Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let’s be straight with you—this is a tough one.

Lookin’ at the whole 16-day window here at Nauset Light Beach, it’s nearly a complete shutout. We’ve got a long stretch of flat, weak, and messy conditions that’s gonna frustrate anyone paddlin’ out. The first record we see is on Friday, August 21st, and from there it’s basically a string of poor surf right through to the end. There’s no real standout; everything’s a struggle. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing wild.

We start Friday, August 21st with a tiny 3 ft swell from the ENE, but the period is a weak 4 seconds and the wind is howlin’ onshore from the same direction at 15 mph. Combined energy is a pathetic 29 – no push, no shape. It’s a total washout. Saturday the 22nd isn’t any better: 3 ft but with a 5-second period and onshore wind again. The afternoon gets a little cross-shore action from the NNW at 6 mph, but the wave height drops to 2 ft and energy sinks to 31. Hard to get excited.

Sunday the 23rd through Monday the 25th sees a shift to cleaner conditions with cross-offshore winds, but the swell is tiny – 2 ft to 1.0 ft. The period stays short, under 7 seconds, and the combined energy barely climbs past 43. It’s clean glassy water for a log or a SUP, but there’s hardly any push. The afternoon of Monday the 24th has offshore wind from the SW at 15 mph, which is nice, but the wave is only 1 ft. You’d be bobbin’ around.

From Tuesday, August 26th all the way to Thursday, September 3rd, it’s an agonizing flat spell. Wave heights drop to 0.7 ft most days, and combined energy values are in the single digits or teens. The wind is all over the place – cross, cross-on, light breezes – but there’s just no swell to work with. The afternoon of Wednesday, September 2nd has a 0.7 ft wave with a 12-second period, which is a long-period groundswell, but 0.7 ft is nothin’ you can ride. That long period would be fun if there was any size, but there isn’t.

Finally, on Monday, August 31st and Tuesday, September 1st, we see a little bump: 3 ft to 4 ft on the 31st from the SSE, with a short 4-5 second period. Winds are cross-offshore from the SSW at 12-15 mph, so it’s clean. Combined energy hits 88 on Monday afternoon. That’s the biggest energy we see, but it’s still short-period slop. It’s the best on offer, and I mean that loosely. Then it dies again.

On Friday, September 4th and Saturday, September 5th, another similar pulse shows up: 4 ft to 4 ft from the SE, again short period (4-5 seconds), with clean cross-offshore wind from the SSW at 18 mph. Energy gets up to 69 on the 4th afternoon. If you’re desperate, those afternoons on August 31st, September 4th, and September 5th are your best shots. But honestly, it’s weak, junky, and not worth the drive for most.

This is a sandbar break, exposed to the east, and the optimum swell direction is from the E. We get some E and ESE swell, but the size and period just aren’t there. The break is fairly consistent, but the swell isn’t delivering. This sort of blank run isn’t uncommon for the area in late summer. Forecasts can change, but right now it’s grim.

Best on offer? The late afternoons of August 31st and September 4th. Swell around 4 ft from the SSE, clean cross-offshore wind, and it’s the only time the energy gets close to anything rideable. Crowds are possible, but with surf this poor, I doubt many will show.

Rusty.

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