Oceanside Harbor Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get real. The next couple weeks in our area look pretty flat and frustrating, to be honest.

Right off the bat, we do have some swell in the water, but it’s not coming together well. The first wave window is Sunday morning the 26th of July at Oceanside Harbor, a beach/jetty spot. We’ve got a 4ft SW swell rolling in with a long 19-second period – that’s proper groundswell energy, plenty of punch. The combined energy is strong at 925. Water temp is sitting at 73°, which is about 6° warmer than average – super unusual for this time of year, feels like bathwater. But here’s the kicker: the wind is light and onshore out of the SW. That’s blowing right into the swell, making things messy. For a break like this, a long-period SW swell with onshore wind usually means lumpy, hard-to-read waves. It’s a marginal call. Crowds are often an issue here, and with the conditions, the quality just isn’t there. This isn’t the standout.

Sunday afternoon stays similar with a 4ft SW swell, period dropping to 18 seconds, energy at 789, still light onshore wind. Still not clean.

Monday the 27th morning bumps up slightly – 4ft SSW swell, 18-second period, energy jumps to 1129, strong. Wind is light onshore from the SSW, again blowing right into the face. Afternoon sees the same pattern: 4ft, 18 seconds, 967 energy, light onshore. The waves are there but the wind is working against us.

Tuesday the 28th morning: 4ft SSW, 17 seconds, energy at 1065, but wind shifts to a cross-onshore 15 km/h from the SSW. That’s going to chop things up – gentle cross-onshore and fairly choppy is what we’re looking at. Afternoon improves a bit with lighter onshore wind, but the damage is done. The pattern holds Wednesday and Thursday – waist to chest-high swell, but the wind is either onshore or cross-onshore, keeping the surface bumpy.

Friday the 31st and Saturday August 1st see the swell start to fade. We’re down around 5ft to 4ft, period dropping to 12 seconds, energy falling into the 500-900 range. Wind stays cross-onshore. The wave quality is poor to marginal across the board.

Then we hit a real drought. From Sunday August 2nd through Thursday August 6th, the swell collapses. We’re talking 1ft to 2ft waves – basically flat. Periods vary but the energy is below 300, and the reports call it “poor surf conditions.” This is a solid six-day stretch with nothing worth paddling out for.

Friday August 7th morning shows a tiny blip – 2ft SSW swell but with a 19-second period, energy at 397. The period is promising but the height is just too small to do anything with. The afternoon improves slightly to 3ft, same long period, energy at 558, but still marginal.

Saturday August 8th and Sunday August 9th hover around 3ft to 3ft with periods around 14-16 seconds, but the wind is cross-onshore 15 km/h from the WSW, creating gentle cross-onshore chop. Not worth getting excited about.

Monday August 10th is the last day in the window – 3ft SSW swell, 14-second period, energy at 324, light onshore wind. Still poor.

So, looking at the whole 16 days, the first week has some waist-chest high energy but the wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore, ruining the quality. After that, it’s essentially flat for nearly a week before a faint pulse tries to return but never gets above knee-high. There’s no true standout here. If I had to pick the least bad window, it would be Monday morning July 27th with 4ft and strong energy, but the onshore wind means you’re fighting for a decent wave. Honestly, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, given the consistent onshore flow and moderate swell. Save your energy and wait for a better pattern.

This is Rusty, signing off.

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