North Torrey Pines Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what North Torrey Pines has in store over the next couple weeks.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – this is a tough run. The water is sitting at 70°F, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, a solid 4°F above average, but that’s about the only thing that’s firing. We’ve got a long, quiet stretch ahead with no real standouts to get excited about.

The action, if you can call it that, starts on Monday, July 6th, with a tiny 2ft swell from the SSW, but the real story here is the period – a massive 20 seconds. That’s a deep, long-period groundswell, which carries a lot of energy (combined energy of 745), but for a beach break like Torrey Pines, that long period tends to make waves stand up too straight and close out. Wind is onshore from the WNW at 9 mph, so it’s not going to be clean. The forecast calls it “marginal” and I’d agree – it’s a paddle, but don’t expect much.

Tuesday, July 7th, is more of the same: 3ft of SSW swell, still that long 18-second interval, with 9 mph onshore wind. The wave comment says “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions” and the score is a 1 out of 10. That tells you everything.

Wednesday, July 8th, the swell holds at 4ft from the SSW with a 16-second period, but the wind goes cross-onshore at 6 mph from the WSW in the morning. The comment mentions “light cross-onshore with small wind ripples,” so it’s still messy. Combined energy is moderate (915 in the morning). Still, nothing worth writing home about.

From Thursday, July 9th, through the end of the forecast on July 21st, it’s a brutal stretch. The swell drops below 3ft most days, the period shortens, and the wind stays onshore or cross-onshore, often from the SSW or SW at 9-12 mph. The wave comments are consistently “poor surf conditions” with scores of 0/10. There’s a brief blip on July 16th with a 3ft swell from the W at a short 8 seconds, but it’s poor. On July 19th, the combined energy jumps to 927 in the afternoon, but that’s attached to 3ft of SW swell with cross-onshore wind – a tease of energy that won’t deliver quality.

We’re looking at a gap of about 14 days here with no decent surf. The only break in the file is North Torrey Pines, and the consistency is “fairly consistent” for small, poor waves, but that doesn’t mean it’s good. For beginners, the swell never goes over 5ft, so it’s not dangerous size-wise, but the wind and period kill it.

To be blunt: the setup here is more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer, given the persistent cross/onshore winds and weak, long-period swell. Hang in there, the forecasts can change, but right now it’s a long wait.

Stay salty,
Rusty

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