North Torrey Pines Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's have a look at what's coming up for North Torrey Pines.

First up, the water is sitting at a very warm 75°F, which is a massive 6°F warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s unusual, so don't expect to need a thick wetsuit.

The next few days are a bit of a mixed bag. We’ve got some decent-sized, long-period groundswell rolling in from the SSW, but the quality is being held back by wind and tide issues. The best of the early period looks like Friday the 4th. The morning has a clean 3ft swell from the SSW with a very long 17-second period and a light WSW breeze keeping things tidy. The combined energy is moderate (668). It’s not a world-beater, but it’s the cleanest window we’ve got to start. The afternoon picks up a little to 4ft, but the wind swings more WNW.

Saturday the 5th has a touch more size, with the morning seeing 4ft from the S and light winds, but the wave comment flags it as marginal. The afternoon has a nice 4ft SW swell with a 16-second period and light WNW winds, but again, tide conditions are questionable.

Now, Sunday the 6th through Monday the 7th is when the swell really starts to pump, but it turns into a tricky situation. The swell builds to 7ft on Sunday and 7ft on Monday, coming from the S and SSW with 14-second periods. The combined energy gets up into the strong range (1644 on Sunday morning). However, the wind is a cross-onshore breeze, making it choppy. For a beginner-friendly break like this, 7ft+ is already pushing it, and the wind is not doing us any favours. The setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing on those days.

By Tuesday the 8th, the swell drops back to 6ft, but the wind is still cross-onshore, and the wave comment is still marginal. The energy is still moderate (1111).

From Wednesday the 9th onwards, we see a steady drop in size. The swell comes down to 4ft, then 3ft, and by the end of the first week into the second week, it’s really fading. The period stays long (15-22 seconds) which is nice for shape, but the height drops to 1ft to 3ft and the combined energy drops into the weak to moderate range (184 to 728). The wind is often light and cross-on or onshore, which is okay, but the lack of push means the surf will be small and weak.

The second week is pretty quiet. From about September 10th through the 19th, we’re looking at small, weak swells. The longest period swells (19-22 seconds) are there, but with only 1ft to 3ft of height, they won’t have the grunt to make much of a wave at this beach break. The energy is consistently low, with the highest reading being 650 on the 19th. There’s no standout session in the second week; it’s a slow period for paddle surfing.

Rusty.

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