Ocean City - 8th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’m looking at the charts for Ocean City – 8th Street, and I gotta be straight with you – it’s a rough stretch ahead. The water is sitting at 77°F, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least you won’t be freezing your butt off waiting for something that’s just not coming.

Right now, through the end of August and into the first week of September, we’ve got a long, flat spell. The swell is tiny – we’re talking 1 ft to 2 ft at best – with weak energy (21 in the combined energy reading) and short, pathetic periods. The wind is mostly cross or cross-on, which just adds chop to an already hopeless situation. Sunday the 30th is a write-off, Monday the 31st is glassy but flat, Tuesday the 1st is glassy but flat – it’s a real bummer.

We finally scrape into something slightly more interesting on Wednesday the 2nd of September. Morning brings a little pulse of 2 ft swell from the SE with a period of 11 seconds, and the combined energy climbs to 100. That’s still weak, but it’s the best we’ve seen. The wind is glassy, so the surface will be clean, but the waves are just ordinary. If you’re desperate, you could get a few small, weak ones. After that, we slide back into the doldrums.

Thursday the 3rd and Friday the 4th offer a bit of cross-off wind and clean conditions, but the swell is still 1 ft to 2 ft, and energy is down in the 45-93 range. It’s surfable if you’re on a foamie and don’t mind paddling for nothing. Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th are even worse, with swell dropping to 0.3 ft-1 ft.

The second week, from the 7th of September onward, is a sad story. The swell tries to pick up a little on Monday the 7th afternoon with 3 ft from the SE, but the period is only 5 seconds – that’s junky windswell – and the wind is cross-on at 12 mph, chopping it up. Tuesday the 8th afternoon sees a bit more energy (131) with 3 ft from the S, but still short period and cross-on wind. Wednesday the 9th afternoon actually shows a 4 ft swell from the ENE with a combined energy of 280 – that’s the biggest number we see – but the period is a pathetic 7 seconds and the wind is cross-on at 12 mph. It’s going to be a messy, bumpy mess. Not for the faint of heart, and honestly, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The last few days, from the 12th to the 14th, we get clean offshore winds (NW at 15-16 mph), which is a tease, but the swell is only 1 ft with energy in the teens. You’ll be staring at a glassy ocean with nothing to ride.

Honestly, there’s no standout session here. The best of a bad lot is probably Wednesday the 2nd of September morning for the cleanest, most glassy conditions with the longest period, or maybe Wednesday the 9th afternoon if you’re a masochist who wants to wrestle onshore slop. But for a proper surf… it’s a no-go for the full 16 days. This area is fairly consistent normally, so this blank run is a bit unusual, but it’s what we’ve got. Forecasts can change, but right now, leave your board in the car.

Rusty.

Read more