Newport Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for Newport Beach over the next couple of weeks.

Truth be told, it’s a bit of a flat spell. We’re looking at a long stretch of days with only small, weak swell and the wind is pretty much always on it. The whole outlook is a bit of a bummer, to be honest. There are no good surf options in this 16-day window at all. Every single slot in the forecast is tagged as "poor surf conditions." The wave energy is low to moderate, with the combined energy of all swells directed here sitting between 260 and 588 (moderate), but it’s not translating into anything rideable. The swell is tiny, never even hitting 4 ft, and the wind is onshore or cross-onshore the whole time, with a light breeze blowing from the WSW or SW. Even the lightest breezes are just making small wind ripples on the surface.

Looking at the first week, starting Sunday, August 9th: we’ve got a 3 ft SSW swell, period of 15 seconds. That’s a long-period groundswell, but with clean faces? Not a chance. It’s cross-on and onshore wind, and the water is a notable 73°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year. That’s a 7° anomaly, so you’ll feel the bathwater, but you won’t feel any waves worth paddling for. The whole week from Monday the 10th through to Saturday the 15th is the same story: 2 ft to 3 ft, mostly SSW, with period dropping from 14 down to 16 seconds, and the wind stays on you.

The second week doesn’t look any better. From Sunday, August 16th, through to Monday, August 24th, the swell peaks at 4 ft on the 16th morning, but it’s cross-on at 9 mph from the W, so it’s going to be chopped up. The period stays around 14 to 19 seconds, but the height is just too small. By the 22nd and 23rd, we’re down to 1 ft, with a long period of 21 seconds, and onshore wind. You’d have more fun watching the tide come in than paddling out.

Newport Beach is a river break, it’s fairly consistent, but right now it’s just not happening. The optimum swell direction is SSW, and we’ve got that, but the size and wind are killing it. For the whole forecast, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, if you’re into that. Otherwise, keep the board in the car and wait for a better forecast.

Rusty.

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