120th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you about 120th Street. Looking at the next 16 days, it's a pretty grim run, to be honest. The surf forecast is mostly a series of small, weak, and choppy conditions with poor quality. We've got a long stretch of flat, disappointing days ahead.

The water's sitting at about 77° which is pretty normal for this time of year, so that's not the problem.

Starting out this Saturday the 25th, the swell is tiny, only 2ft from the east with a short period of 6 seconds. That means weak, gutless waves with barely any energy (42 combined energy). The wind is a cross-onshore from the northeast at 9 mph, making it choppy and messy. Not a day to bother.

Sunday the 26th is more of the same. A 2ft east-southeast swell with an 8-second period, but the cross-onshore wind keeps things bumpy. The combined energy is just 54.

Monday the 27th and Tuesday the 28th are no better. The swell stays under 2ft. Tuesday afternoon does glass off with a 3 mph south-southwest wind, but the swell is still too weak and short-period to make anything of it.

The pattern continues through the end of July with small, weak swells and mostly poor winds. There's a brief uptick on Thursday the 30th afternoon – a 2ft southeast swell with a 10-second period and a combined energy of 198. That's a moderate energy event, and with the wind going onshore from the east-southeast, it could be worth a look, but the forecast still rates it as poor surf conditions.

Then from Friday the 31st of July all the way through to Saturday the 9th of August, we’re in a deep slump. Swells are consistently under 3ft, often with short periods and combined energies well under 100. Most days have cross-onshore or onshore winds. There are a couple of clean windows with cross-offshore winds on the 5th, 6th and 9th of August, but the swell is so small (1ft to 3ft) that it's barely rideable. The 5th of August morning is the only time the forecast calls it "surfable", but it's a 1 out of 10 – very ordinary.

The one notable event is the morning of Tuesday the 4th of August. We get a 5ft swell from the south but with a short 7-second period. The combined energy jumps to 378, which is moderate. But the wind is a cross-shore from the south at 9 mph, creating a cross-chop. This is a beach/jetty break, and with that size, it could be too much for beginners. It's a poor surf condition, so don't get excited.

There is a very small window on the morning of the 5th of August where the wind goes light cross-offshore from the north-northwest, and the 3ft swell from the south-southeast is rideable. It's clean, but the waves will be weak and gutless. It's the best of a bad bunch, but it's still poor.

Honestly, with the consistent small surf and mostly onshore winds, this stretch is looking more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer. For the 16-day outlook, the only day to even consider is the morning of the 5th of August if you're desperate for a paddle, but don't expect much.

Stay patient. It'll turn around.

Rusty.

Read more