Nauset Light Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a good, honest look at what Nauset Light Beach has in store for us over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be straight with you – it’s a tough outlook. We’re looking at a long, frustrating stretch of tiny, weak surf with poor conditions for the most part, before a little late-surge that might just save the end of the month.

Right now, into this Sunday the 16th, the surf is practically flat. You’re looking at a measly 0.3 ft of swell coming from the S, with a short period of 6 seconds. The wave energy is practically nothing at a value of 2. The wind is light cross-off in the morning, which would be okay if there was any wave to ride, but by the afternoon the wind picks up to 15 mph, still cross-off, but on that tiny swell it’s not going to do anything for us. The water is sitting at 71°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, but you won’t be feeling it standing on the sand.

This grim scenario pretty much anchors the entire first week. Monday the 17th through to Tuesday the 25th is a brutal run of near-flat conditions. We’re talking swell heights wavering between 0.3 ft and 1 ft, with the swell direction bouncing around from S to E to ESE. The period stays short, mostly under 8 seconds, and the combined energy is in the low double digits at best. There’s one brief moment on Thursday the 20th in the afternoon where the wind goes glassy, but the swell is still a pathetic 1.0 ft. It’s just not worth paddling out. The wind is mostly cross-off or cross-on, but even when it’s clean, there’s nothing to surf. This is a proper drought.

Now, things finally start to look a bit more interesting on Wednesday the 26th. The morning shows a spike in swell from the NNE at 3 ft, but the period is a very short 4 seconds, so it’ll be a bit lumpy and weak. The real change comes in the afternoon. We get a pulse of NNE swell at 4 ft with a period of 6 seconds, and the combined energy jumps to a moderate 127. The wind goes dead glassy. This is our first real window of opportunity. It’s still not huge, and the period is short, meaning the waves might be a little fat and close out at a beach break like Nauset Light, but after a week of nothing, 4 ft of glassy-clean surf is a welcome sight. This is the standout, but temper your expectations – it’s not a groundswell.

Thursday the 27th offers a follow-up with 4 ft swell from the NE in the morning, but the wind is a messy cross-shore at 12 mph, which will chop it up. The energy is still moderate at 108, but the quality won’t be there. After this, the swell starts to fade again into the end of the month, dropping back down to under 2 ft with onshore winds, leaving us with a few more days of small, wind-affected leftovers.

So, to put it bluntly: for the next 16 days, Nauset Light Beach is a tough call. The only real, honest-to-goodness standout is the afternoon of Wednesday, August 26th. If you can get on it right then, you might snag some clean, glassy 4 ft waves. The rest of the time, it’s going to be tiny, weak, or blown out. This is a spot that’s fairly consistent normally, so this kind of blank run is a bit unusual, but forecasts can change. For now, keep the board in the car and check the wind on the 26th.

Rusty.

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