120th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, grab a seat. Rusty here with a look at what's on offer. Straight up, I've got to be honest with you – it's looking grim. We've got a full 16-day window, but the first real surf we can talk about doesn't show up until the 8th of July, and even then it's a struggle. There's a big gap of nothing much before that.

So, the whole period is one long, tough wait at 120th Street. This is a beach and jetty setup, exposed to the southeast swell. The water temp is sitting at a balmy 79°, which is a massive 6° warmer than normal for this time of year – full-on tropical bathwater, that's very unusual. Don't expect any crowds though, because the surf is almost non-existent.

For the first few days, the swell is tiny and the wind is mostly cross or onshore, so it's just messy, small dribble. The energy in the water is weak, with combined swell energy readings barely cracking 20 to 90 (weak energy). Nothing to get excited about.

We see a tiny pulse on the 8th of July, Wednesday. A 4ft NE swell with a short 5-second period, but the wind is a moderate cross-onshore at 12 mph, so it'll be choppy. Not worth paddling out for.

The 10th of July, Friday morning, offers a brief glimmer. A tiny 2ft S swell with a clean offshore breeze from the WSW at 6 mph. The combined energy is still weak at 29, but it might be the cleanest dribble you'll see all week.

From the 12th of July onwards, the swell gets a bit more push, but the wind stays pretty average. The 16th of July, Thursday, brings a 3ft SSE swell with a fresh, clean cross-offshore breeze from the WNW at 19 mph. The combined energy finally hits 80 (still weak). It could be rideable for a total beginner on a foamy, but there's no power.

Then the 17th of July, Friday afternoon, is just about the best of a bad bunch. A clean, glassy conditions with a 2ft SSE swell and a 7-second period. The energy is still weak at 39. It's as clean as it gets, but it's tiny.

Honestly, for the entire 16-day run, there’s no standout. Every single record says "poor surf conditions" with a score of zero out of ten. The consistent theme is weak energy and small, wind-affected swell. This is one of those stretches where the forecasts can only get better. A blank run like this is more normal for the area when the conditions just don't line up.

I'm not going to pretend there's a magic day here. It's a flat spell. Keep the board waxed and check back in, because it can't stay this poor forever.

Rusty.

Read more