Oceanside Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it for Oceanside Pier. Things are looking pretty quiet for a while, so we’ve got a bit of a slow start, but there’s a monster lurking in the second week that you’re not gonna want to miss.

Right now, the water is sitting at a balmy 77°, which is a whopping 9° warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s seriously unusual, so you’re practically in a bath.

The first real glimmer of something doesn’t show up until Saturday, September 5th. We’ve got a long stretch of small, choppy, cross-onshore junk from Sunday the 30th all the way through Friday the 4th. Saturday morning sees a bit of a pulse with a 3ft SSW swell, period around 16 seconds, and light offshore wind. The combined energy is moderate at 843, but it’s still labeled marginal. The afternoon picks up a bit more energy to 1016 with glassy, light cross-onshore wind, but the waves are still only 3ft from the SSW. It’s not going to be a classic, but it’s the first breath of life.

Now, hold onto your board. The standout is Monday, September 7th. This is the one for the experts. The morning session is absolutely pumping. We’re seeing a 12ft south swell (13-second period) with a massive combined energy of 3887 and perfectly glassy conditions. The wind is dead calm, so it’s going to be as clean as it gets. However, this is a big one. At over 8ft, this is expert territory only. The swell is coming from the south, which is a good direction for this exposed break, but a long-period swell like this (13 seconds) can be a bit too straight at a beach break. This is a case where the size and power are the main draw, but it’ll be a handful. The afternoon sees the swell jump to 15ft with a nasty cross-onshore wind, so that morning window is the only real window.

Before that, on Sunday, September 6th, we get a 6ft S swell with a cold north wind making it clean, but the combined energy is high at 2388. The morning could be a decent option for intermediate surfers, but the afternoon gets wrecked by a strong southeast wind making it a mess. That setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

After that Monday spike, the surf drops off dramatically. Tuesday the 8th through the 14th is a graveyard of small, weak, cross-onshore leftovers. Swells dip to 1ft to 3ft with very low energy, mostly under 500. Nothing worth paddling out for.

So, to wrap it up: don’t bother until Saturday the 5th for a tiny, clean wave, but the real story is the massive, glassy, expert-only swell on Monday morning, September 7th. Get on it early.

Rusty

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