Ocean City - 8th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey folks, Rusty here. I'm gonna level with you – this outlook for Ocean City's 8th Street is a rough one. We're staring down a long, flat stretch with barely anything to get excited about, so settle in.

Right from the get-go on Sunday July 5th, it's a bust. We've got a tiny 1ft SE windswell with a combined energy of just 16 – that's next to nothing. The wind's all cross-onshore, making it choppy and messy. That same small, poor-quality swell hangs around through Monday the 6th and Tuesday the 7th, with heights barely reaching 2ft and periods under 6 seconds. There's a short window Tuesday morning where a light offshore breeze from the north-northeast cleans things up, but the swell's coming from the east at a mere 2ft – not enough to get you moving. Energy readings stay weak, topping out around 87 on Wednesday, but it's still bumpy and cross-shore with no real shape. From Thursday into the second week, we get a mix of onshore and offshore winds, but the swell just won't cooperate – we're stuck with 1ft to 2ft waves and energy levels that barely dribble along in the 20s and 30s.

There's one slight pulse worth mentioning: on Saturday July 11th, the combined energy hits 150 – that's a moderate reading. But it's still a short-period 9 second SSE swell at 2ft, and it's blowing moderate cross-shore. Not gonna give you clean waves. The water's running unusually warm, hitting about 77°F, which is over 6° warmer than average – that's a big anomaly, but it doesn't help the surf.

The only real standout in this whole 16-day run is right at the end. On Monday July 20th, we see combined energy jump to 108, with a 3ft SSE swell and 8-second period. Winds are light cross-onshore in the morning, so conditions might be a little lumpy but rideable. After two weeks of flatness, a waist-high, semi-clean wave is the best we've got.

Crowds at 8th Street can get busy sometimes, but with this lack of swell, don't count on anyone being out.

For beginners, the swell barely cracks 3ft the whole time, so it's not too big, but the quality's so poor it's not worth a session. This is a beach break, and with the persistent cross-onshore winds and weak short-period windswell, the kite boarders are probably gonna have more fun than us paddle surfers.

So, long dry spell ahead. It happens here from time to time. Keep an eye on that Monday the 20th – forecasts can change.

Rusty out.

Read more