Newport Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get real: the next couple of weeks at Newport Beach are looking pretty bleak for the paddle crew. There’s a long stretch of poor surf coming up, so don’t get your hopes up.

The first week is a total washout. From Tuesday (11 August) right through to the following Monday, the surf is tiny and messy. The swell is a weak, short-period south-southwest affair, barely pushing 2 ft to 3 ft. The wind is mostly cross-onshore, chopping it all up. It’s a real grind. The combined wave energy sits in the low to moderate range (around 180 to 531), but it’s all wind-affected junk. Nothing worth paddling out for.

We do see a slight bump in energy on Friday morning (14 August), with the combined swell energy hitting 403, but it’s still only “marginal.” The water temperature is a notable 71°F – that’s 4°F warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least you won’t be cold while you’re sitting there watching the chop.

The weekend of the 15th and 16th shows a tiny height increase, pushing to 3 ft-3 ft from the SSW, but it’s still cross-onshore. The period is decent enough at 15-16 seconds, hinting at a bit of groundswell, but the clean face never shows. The onshore wind and the sheltered river-break setup just aren’t cooperating.

The second week is more of the same. From Monday 17 August to Sunday 23 August, the swell drops back to 1 ft-3 ft, with periods from 13 to 18 seconds. The energy is weak to moderate (152 to 434). You’ll see a few mornings with light offshore or onshore breezes, but the surf is too small and weak to care about. The best you can hope for on the 23rd is a clean 1 ft SW swell, but that’s barely a ripple.

The very end of the window, on Wednesday 26 August, shows a little more pulse – 3 ft-3 ft from the SW with a 16-second period and combined energy hitting 496-578. It’s still “marginal” at best, and the wind is cross-onshore. For a sheltered river mouth spot like Newport Beach, this is a kite-surfing setup, not a paddle-surfing one.

Honestly, there’s no standout session in this 16-day window. The breaks are inconsistent, and the conditions are just poor. For this area, a blank run like this is normal. Keep an eye on the charts, things can change, but for now, leave the board in the car.

Rusty.

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