Newport Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the table for the next couple of weeks.

To be honest, it’s a pretty grim stretch ahead. The forecast is stacked with poor surf conditions and cross-onshore winds that’ll keep things chopped up and messy. There’s really no standout session in the whole 16-day window. The best you can hope for is a few mornings where the wind is light and the swell is just about rideable, but nothing that’ll get the heart racing.

The first few days are a write-off. Monday morning at Newport Beach (Newportbeach) is a total dud – 4ft of SSW swell but with a cross-on breeze and the wave comment says it all: poor surf. The water is sitting at 70°, which is way warmer than average for this time of year, but that’s about the only noteworthy thing. The combined energy is weak (336), so don’t expect any push.

Tuesday through Thursday is the same story: light cross-onshore winds, small swell hovering around 3ft to 5ft, and all of it marked as poor. The combined energy climbs a bit midweek, hitting 770 on Thursday morning, but with the wind coming from the WSW and a cross-on state, it’s just going to be a bumpy, gutless mess.

Friday the 24th and Saturday the 25th are a little more interesting in terms of swell period – we get a very long period groundswell of 21 seconds on the Saturday morning, which is rare. But the swell is only 3ft and the wind is cross-on, so it’s going to be a teasing, inconsistent affair with barely any energy (865). That long period will make the waves stand up a bit at the river mouth, but it’ll be hard work for little reward.

The gap of proper, clean surf stretches all the way to the end of the month. There’s a glimmer on Friday the 31st of July morning when the swell bumps up to 5ft from the SSE, with a period of 15 seconds and light onshore wind. The combined energy is strong (1441), and the wave comment is “marginal surf forecast” – which is about as good as it gets here. That’s the pick of the bunch, but it’s still a far cry from good. The water temp is unknown, but with the anomaly not quoted, it’s probably about average for late July.

Saturday the 1st of August is similar: 6ft from the S, period 13 seconds, light onshore wind, and combined energy at 1246. Again, it’s just marginal. The swell is over 5ft, so it’s getting a bit too chunky for beginners, but it’s not clean enough to be a proper session for the experienced crew either.

After that, it drops off fast. Sunday the 2nd of August sees the swell fade to 4ft and the wind picks up to a moderate cross-on, and by Monday the 3rd of August we’re back to tiny, weak 3ft surf with barely any energy (227). The last few days are a complete fizzle – 1ft on Tuesday the 4th of August.

Look, the river mouth at Newport Beach (Newportbeach) is a sheltered setup, so it’s always worth a look when the wind is howling elsewhere, but the crowds are often there and the consistency is only fair. With the swell direction mostly SSW to S, it’s not hitting the optimum SSW direction perfectly, but it’s close enough. The real issue is that the wind is never truly offshore during this whole period – it’s always cross-on or onshore, which kills the quality.

There’s a significant gap with no real recommendations from now until the 31st of July – that’s a solid 11 days of mediocrity. The only sessions that even get a score of 2 out of 10 are the 31st of July morning and the 1st of August morning. That’s the best we’ve got, and it’s not saying much.

Given the persistent onshore wind and small, messy swell, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. It’s a long, flat wait, but it tends not to stay this poor for long – forecasts can change.

Rusty.

Read more