Oceanside Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's take a look at what we've got cookin' for the Oceanside Pier area over the next couple of weeks.

To be straight with you, it's a pretty quiet stretch. We're looking at a long spell of small, weak surf that won't get the heart racing. The wave energy is mostly in the low to mid hundreds (265 to 628), which is moderate at best. The water temperature is sitting at a very unusual 73°F, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year at Oceanside Pier. That’s a solid 5°F above average, so you can definitely leave the wetsuit at home.

Saturday the 12th and Sunday the 13th are a write-off. We’ve got poor surf conditions with messy, cross-onshore winds making a mess of things. Swell is tiny, around 2 ft to 2 ft from the SW with a weak 14-second period. It’s not worth paddling out for.

Monday the 14th stays poor. We see a pulse of short-period wind swell, only 8 seconds, coming from the W at 3 ft, but it's accompanied by a moderate cross-onshore breeze making it choppy and frustrating.

Things don’t really get any better through the rest of that first week. From Tuesday the 15th through Friday the 19th, we're looking at "marginal" surf at best. Swell hangs around a pathetic 1 ft to 3 ft. The good news is that the wind will often be light and onshore or light cross-onshore, which will keep the surface reasonably clean. But honestly, with that little energy, you’ll be bobbing around waiting for something to ride. There's a tiny window Tuesday afternoon where the swell period stretches a bit, and a light offshore, but it's still too small to get excited about.

Now, the weekend of the 20th and 21st shows a slight pulse. Swell sizes tick up to 3 ft and the wave energy gets into the higher moderate range (up to 628). We’ll see a clean SW groundswell with a decent 18-second period. Sunday the 20th afternoon looks like it might scrape a rideable wave with light offshore wind. Monday the 21st afternoon has the best wind of the whole period with a slight offshore flow from the SW at just 3 mph. This is the standout moment. For a shortboard, it’ll still be small, but it'll be your best chance at a clean, lined-up wave all 16 days.

After that, we slide back into the doldrums. The second week, from the 22nd of September through the 27th, is more of the same. Swell drops back to 2 ft-3 ft with light cross-onshore winds. It’s the definition of a flat spell for Oceanside Pier. The last few days, the wind picks up, and we even get a moderate breeze on Friday the 25th making it choppy again. Honestly, there’s nothing in the second week that’s worth planning for.

So, to sum it up: the whole 16-day window is slim pickings. If you absolutely have to get wet, circle Monday the 21st of September afternoon. That light offshore wind and a modest SW swell will give you the cleanest, most organized waves you’re going to find. For the rest, keep the board in the car, but don't expect much.

Rusty.

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