Oceanside Harbor Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming down the line for Oceanside Harbor. Gotta be straight with you – this stretch of 16 days is looking pretty grim. We’ve got a long, quiet gap to start, and the first real glimmer of something rideable doesn’t show up until the morning of Thursday the 4th. Even then, it’s a struggle.

Overall, the pattern is dominated by poor surf conditions and a lot of cross-onshore or onshore wind. The swell energy is mostly moderate at best, with the combined energy values sitting in the low hundreds to barely cracking 1,500 (1320 to 1562) on the better days. The problem is that even when the swell does bump up, the wind is messy, and the quality just isn’t there for a good paddle session.

Let’s break it down. Thursday morning, the 3rd, is a total write-off. There’s a tiny 2ft SW swell with a 15-second period, but the wind is on it and the combined energy is only 364 – weak. The report says “poor surf conditions,” and I’m not going to argue.

Things start to look a little less hopeless on Friday the 4th. The morning shows a 3ft SSW swell, period pulling 17 seconds, and the combined energy bumps up to 690. The wind is a light breeze from the SSW, which is onshore, but the energy is there. The catch is the report calls it “marginal surf forecast.” It’s not good, but it’s the first chance to get wet if you’re desperate. The afternoon gets messier with cross-onshore wind.

Saturday the 5th is more of the same: 3ft to 4ft SSW swell, still some marginal energy (803 to 978), but the wind is cross-onshore or light. Still not clean.

The best of the whole outlook, and I mean the only time it gets close to interesting, is the weekend of the 6th and 7th. Sunday the 6th has the swell jumping to 6ft to 6ft from the S, with a 14-second period. The combined energy hits 1320 to 1413 – that’s moderate wave energy. Morning is clear with a light SW breeze, which is onshore but light. This is the biggest swell of the window. But at 6ft to 6ft, it’s getting into the size that’s more for intermediate and above; beginners will find it a handful. The direction is from the S, and the optimum swell for Oceanside Harbor is from the W, so it’s not a perfect match. It’s a beach/jetty setup, so a long-period S swell can be a bit wonky until it sorts itself out. Afternoon stays clean enough with a light WSW breeze.

Monday the 7th keeps the size at 6ft to 7ft from the SSW, but the wind turns cross-onshore from the W, and the energy is high (1404 to 1562). The chop gets nasty by the afternoon.

After that, it’s a slow, steady slide into the gutter. Tuesday the 8th drops back to 5ft to 6ft, but the wind is cross-onshore and the conditions are poor. From Wednesday the 9th all the way through to Friday the 18th, the swell is mostly under 3ft, the combined energy is in the low hundreds (mostly under 500), and the wind is constantly cross-onshore or onshore. We’re talking long periods of “poor surf conditions” and “marginal surf forecast.” The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so no weird anomalies there.

The long-range stuff, like the 17th and 18th, shows a tiny 2ft to 2ft SW swell with a very long period of 20-22 seconds – that’s groundswell energy. But the combined energy is still weak (514 to 720), and the wind is cross-onshore. A long period groundswell that small with cross-wind is just frustrating, not fun.

Honestly, if you’re a kiter, the days with moderate cross-onshore wind and 5ft to 7ft swell might look more interesting than anything for a paddle surfer. For the rest of us, it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

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