Santa Monica Ocean Park Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming our way for the next few weeks. Honestly, it’s a pretty bleak picture for the Santa Monica Ocean Park area. We’ve got a long stretch of small, weak swell and wind that’s just not playing nice. The water is sitting at 73°, which is way warmer than normal for this time of year – a full 8° above average, so you won’t need a thick wetsuit, but you will need patience.

The first real chance of anything worth paddling out for doesn’t show up until Saturday the 8th of August, and even then it’s only marginal. The morning might see a tiny 2ft swell from the SSW with a period of 17 seconds, and light cross-onshore breeze from the south at 6 mph. The combined energy is moderate at 212, but the swell is just too small and the wind is not clean. It’s a long period groundswell, which for a beach break like this means it might wall up and close out. Don’t get your hopes up.

We then hit a real dead zone. From Sunday the 9th right through to Friday the 14th of August, it’s nothing but poor surf conditions. The swell stays tiny, between 1ft and 2ft, and the wind is either onshore or cross-onshore. It’s a sad sight.

The next flicker of life comes on Saturday the 15th of August. The morning session shows a slightly better 3ft of SSW swell, with a period of 16 seconds, and the wind is light and onshore from the SW at 6 mph. The wave energy is strong at 398, but it’s still a close-out candidate with that long period on a beach. The conditions are still listed as marginal. By the afternoon, the wind picks up to 12 mph, so get on it early if you’re desperate.

The final mention of anything even in the marginal category is on Monday the 17th of August. The morning shows a 2ft SSW swell, period of 15 seconds, with a light cross-onshore breeze. The energy is moderate at 227. Again, it’s not great.

So, the real standout here, if you can even call it that, is the morning of Saturday the 15th of August. That’s your best bet for the biggest, most energetic, but still marginal, surf. It’s not for beginners – that 3ft is small, but the long period and onshore wind will make it tricky. For everyone else, it’s a session to keep expectations low.

There’s a big gap of nothing from the 8th to the 15th, and then again after the 17th. It’s a tough run. The setup here is so weak that it might honestly be more interesting for the kite surfers if the wind picks up.

Rusty.

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