Oceanside Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a good look at what Oceanside Pier has in store for us over the next couple of weeks. It’s going to be a bit of a mixed bag with some real quiet spells, but there might be a couple of windows where it gets good.

First thing you’ll notice is the water temp is sitting at a very unusual 77°F, which is a massive 9°F warmer than normal for this time of year. It’s rare to get that kind of warmth, so you can leave the steamer at home.

The pattern starts out pretty average. Wednesday the 2nd and Thursday the 3rd are a write-off with weak 2ft to 3ft SSW swell and cross-on or onshore wind. The energy is low (365 to 536), so don't even bother. Friday the 4th through Sunday the 6th morning stay marginal, with the swell slowly bumping up to 3ft to 6ft, but that cross-on wind is still messing with the surface.

The first real standout arrives on Sunday the 6th in the afternoon. The wind drops right off to glassy (5 km/h translates to about 3 mph) and the swell is a solid 5ft from the S with moderate energy (1112). It’s clean, it’s manageable, and it’s your pick for early in the run – get out there for a sunset session.

Monday the 7th and Tuesday the 8th see a bit more size (5ft to 6ft) but the wind switches back to a light cross-on, making things only marginal. The energy is decent (914 to 1040) but the quality won't be as good as Sunday.

There’s a gap of a few days of nothing much after that, with most of the week starting September 9th looking poor. The only other little highlight is Wednesday the 9th afternoon – another glassy window, this time with a 4ft SSW swell and an unusually long period of 11 seconds. The energy (616) isn’t huge, but that long period on an exposed pier like this will give you some clean, lined-up walls with light wind.

From Thursday the 10th right through to Wednesday the 17th, things drop right off. The swell goes tiny (2ft to 3ft), the period is all over the place, and energy levels fall to between 192 and 460. The wind stays mostly cross-on or onshore. The last few days, especially the 16th and 17th, have a very long-period 21-second swell, but it’s only 2ft – so that’s just a long wait for a knee-high wave that might jack up fast.

In short: The only true standouts are Sunday the 6th afternoon for size and cleanliness, and Wednesday the 9th afternoon for clean, lined-up small waves. After that, it’s a long stretch of pretty average conditions until the end of the run.

Stay patient, and grab those two windows.

Rusty.

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