North Torrey Pines Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for North Torrey Pines. Gotta be straight with you – the next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim for a proper paddle. The water temp is sitting at 72°F, which is a massive 5°F warmer than normal for this time of year, so that’s a real oddity, but it won’t help the waves.

The pattern is a long, drawn-out stretch of poor to marginal conditions. There’s a weak, long-period groundswell filtering in from the SSW, but the wind is nearly always a problem. From Friday the 10th right through the middle of the month, it’s a messy story of cross-on or onshore breezes, mostly from the SW or W, chopping up what little swell there is. Swell heights are hovering around 2 ft to 3 ft, with combined wave energy figures mostly in the 200 to 400 range (moderate low energy). That’s not enough to get excited about, and the period is often around 14 to 15 seconds, which is more of a lully groundswell that won’t do much for a beach break like this.

We’ve got a gap of several days here where there’s really nothing to recommend. The wind is nearly always onshore or cross-on, and the surf is described as “poor” or “marginal” at best. You’d be better off finding something else to do.

Things get a little more interesting around Sunday the 19th. The swell bumps up to 4 ft from the S, with a period of 15 seconds, and the combined energy jumps to a strong 1173. That’s a proper shot of energy. But the wind is still onshore from the W at 9 mph, so it’s going to be lumpy. That’s still only a marginal forecast, and the wind will be the spoiler. It might be okay for a bigger board if you’re desperate, but it’s not clean.

Looking further out, around Saturday the 25th, we see another pulse of 4 ft to 4 ft S swell with a shorter period of 12 seconds. The wind looks lighter here, with a WSW breeze at 6 mph in the morning, making for light cross-onshore conditions. The combined energy is 707 (strong), but with the short period, it’s going to be a bit crumbly and inconsistent. This is about the best on offer in the entire 16-day window, but it’s a long way off and the wind is still not perfect.

If you’re a beginner, the swell stays under 5 ft for most of the run, so size isn’t the issue – it’s the chop and the onshore wind that will make it a frustrating session. Honestly, for a beach break like this with the wind howling onshore, the setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing for most of the period.

Rusty.

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