Newport-South Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty comin' at ya with the outlook for Newport-South Beach. Let's get straight into it.

Right off the bat, we've got a bit of a wait on our hands. The first real chance to paddle out comes Saturday morning, September 5th. It's not a massive session, but it's the pick of the bunch early on. We're looking at a clean 3 ft SW groundswell, with a long 16-second period between sets. The water's sitting at 57°F, which is a touch colder than average for this time of year. The wind is dead glass, 0 mph, so the surface will be like a mirror. The combined energy is moderate, sitting at 594. It's a beginner-friendly spot, so this is a solid window for a quiet, glassy session. Be mindful that the crowds can show up here sometimes, but on a glassy morning like this, it's a beautiful thing.

Saturday afternoon and Sunday morning see the same size swell, but the wind shifts. Sunday morning is still good, with 3 mph offshore breezes and glassy conditions on that 3 ft SW groundswell, so it's another decent window.

From Monday morning, September 7th, through the rest of the first week, the size drops to 2 ft and the winds get messy. It's a lot of cross-onshore and cross-shore chop. The energy drops to moderate but weaker levels, around 319. The quality just isn't there for a good paddle. We get a bit of a bump Tuesday afternoon, the 8th, with a 4 ft NNW windswell, but it's a short period (5 seconds) and the wind is a moderate cross-shore at 12 mph, creating a cross-chop. That's not a surfer's wave; that setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The second week starts with some promise but fades fast. Thursday the 10th through Saturday the 12th of September, the swell tries to build. We get a long-period 3 ft to 3 ft SW groundswell with a 17-second period, and the combined energy jumps into a strong 700-756 range. But the wind is a constant issue—cross and cross-onshore at 9 to 12 mph, making it choppy. The size bumps up to 5 ft to 5 ft on the 11th and 12th, but it's a short-period NW windswell with poor conditions. That 6 ft on Friday afternoon is just messy.

By Sunday the 13th and into the final days, it's a mixed bag of small, weak NW swells with cross-shore winds. The energy drops back to moderate. A few sessions on the 18th of September show a 5 ft NW swell with a 10-second period and light cross-shore winds, which is the closest we get to a decent window in the second week, but it's still marginal.

So, the standout here is without a doubt Saturday morning, September 5th. That glassy, long-period SW groundswell is the cleanest we'll see in this whole 16-day stretch. Sunday morning is a close second.

That's the story from here. Keep your eyes on the weekend.

- Rusty

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