Oceanside Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let's talk about what's coming up for Oceanside Pier.

Honestly, for the next 10 days, it's a bit of a struggle. We've got a whole lot of knee-high, weak swell with poor conditions making it tough to get excited. The water is a toasty 72°F, which is much warmer than usual for this time of year, but that's about the only bright spot.

Right from the start on Friday the 21st, we're looking at small 2ft swell from the SSW at a long 13 seconds. But the wind is a cross-on from the WSW at 6 mph, leaving us with poor, bumpy surf. That theme carries right through the weekend and into the start of next week. The wave energy is weak, hovering around the 199 mark, and it doesn't get much better. We see a little lift in energy on Sunday the 23rd (303) and Monday the 24th (359), but the swell is still tiny at 2ft to 2ft and the wind is a constant cross-on. Nothing is really lining up.

Things start to get a bit more interesting around Wednesday the 26th. We see the swell size bump up to 5ft from the S, with the energy jumping to 1377. It’s still a bit junky with that cross-on wind, but the size is there. Wednesday afternoon looks a touch better with 6ft S swell and the wind easing to a light breeze. It’s still cross-on, so expect some chop, but this is where we start to see some potential. Thursday the 27th drops back down to 4ft and the wind goes onshore. It's a lot of marginal surf.

The standout period is towards the end of this 16-day window. Keep your eyes on Friday, September 4th and Saturday, September 5th. On Friday the 4th, we’ve got 5ft of solid S groundswell with a 15-second period. The energy is strong at 1525 and the wind is a light onshore from the SW at 6 mph. That's about as clean as we’re going to see it. That’s the pick of the week.

Then on Saturday the 5th, the swell actually gets bigger, pushing up to 7ft to 7ft from the S, with very strong energy over 2000. The wind is still light and onshore, which will hold it open. This is bigger, more powerful swell. For intermediate to advanced surfers, that Saturday morning could be the best on offer, but for beginners, 7ft is probably pushing it. It’s a long-range call, so don’t lock it in, but it looks promising.

The rest of the time? A lot of waiting. From now until that late August/early September window, there are really only a few days where you might get a marginal wave. The long period (13-19 seconds) on much of this swell means it will have good shape but long waits between sets at the Pier.

Honestly, for the classic Oceanside Pier sandbars, that big S swell on the 5th might be a little too straight and powerful for a clean peak, but if it aligns, it could be on. Right now, the setup looks more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer given the persistent cross-on breezes and shifting sandbars.

Keep your hopes up for that first week of September.

Rusty.

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