Ocean City - 8th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Well, folks, it's a bit of a tough stretch ahead for Ocean City, at least for the next couple of weeks. I'm looking at the whole 16-day window, and honestly, there's not a single standout session that's going to get my heart pumping. The water is sitting at a warm 77°F, which is a solid 4°F warmer than usual for this time of year, so you'll be sweating in your wetsuit if you even bother suiting up.

Let's break it down. Starting around Wednesday morning the 26th, we've got tiny 1ft swell from the southeast with a weak 9-second period. The combined energy is a measly 30 (weak energy), and while the wind is glassy early, the waves are just flat and poor. That afternoon, a cross-onshore breeze kicks up to 12 mph, making things choppy and useless. Thursday the 27th is even worse with a risk of thunderstorms and stronger onshore winds, and the swell stays puny. Friday the 28th offers a glimmer of hope with a bit cleaner conditions thanks to a light cross-offshore breeze from the WSW, but the swell is still only 2ft to 2ft, and the energy is weak (82 and 61). The wave comment just says "surfable but very ordinary," and I'm not getting excited about that.

Saturday the 29th through Monday the 31st of August is a complete write-off—tiny swell, poor wind, and the energy drops to the teens and twenties. The first week of September doesn't look any better. Tuesday the 1st has a 0.3ft swell with a long 15-second period, but the energy is just 19, and it's essentially flat. The next few days stay small, with only a few brief moments of clean conditions but no real swell to speak of. The energy only starts to creep up around Thursday the 3rd, but it's still very weak, and the wind is messy.

Towards the end of the window, around Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th of September, the swell picks up a little to 3ft from the east, and the combined energy nudges into the low triple digits (111 and 111 for those mornings), which is moderate energy. But the wind is a strong cross-shore at 15 to 19 mph, creating lumpy, choppy conditions. The waves are short-period and all over the place. The only real clean window looks like Tuesday morning the 8th of September, with a 4ft swell from the SSE and a light cross-offshore breeze from the WNW, giving 116 energy (moderate). But the period is a short 6 seconds, so it's not going to have any punch, and the wave comment is still just "surfable but very ordinary." After that, the wind stays clean but the swell drops off fast.

Honestly, for paddle surfing, there's nothing here that's worth paddling out for. With all the wind and small, weak swell, this setup might be more interesting for kite surfing, especially on those days with a solid cross-breeze and a bit of east chop. Keep your eyes on the charts, but I wouldn't hold your breath for any magic in the next 16 days.

Rusty.

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