Oswald State Park/Short Sands Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – this forecast is a bit of a tough one for Oswald State Park/Short Sands. There’s no standout surf in the next 16 days, just a few small windows that are barely worth paddling out for.

Right now, Sunday morning the 26th, we’ve got a small 3ft SW swell rolling in with a period of 20 seconds. That’s a long-period groundswell, which means better shape, but for a beach break it can break a bit straight and the energy is moderate at best (575). The wind is cross-shore from the SSW at 9 mph, so there’ll be a bit of a cross-chop. Not terrible, but marginal. Water temp is 57°F, which is about two degrees colder than usual for this time of year - feels like we skipped a bit of summer warmth. This first bit is the only half-decent chance in the near term.

Sunday afternoon stays small at 3ft from the SW, with a light cross-onshore breeze. It’s not clean.

Then from Monday the 27th all the way through the first week of August, we’ve got a long stretch of poor surf. Swell drops to 2–3ft, periods shrink, winds are mostly cross or cross-onshore, and conditions are choppy. Nothing worth chasing.

By Sunday the 2nd of August, there’s a slight bump in swell – 4ft from the WNW early, but cross-onshore winds and a short period of 9 seconds mean it’s messy. That’s not a go.

From the 3rd to the 6th, we see some waist-to-chest high WNW and NW swell (3–4ft) coming through, but the period drops to a terrible 7 seconds. That’s weak windswell – short, weak lines. Add in moderate to fresh cross-shore winds up to 22 mph, and you’ve got lumpy, choppy conditions that are much more suited to a kite than a paddle. The combined energy stays low to moderate, mostly between 171 and 287.

The second week, from the 7th of August onward, it’s the same sad song: tiny swell under 4ft, periods bottoming out at 6 seconds, and light onshore breezes. Even the best of it – Sunday the 9th with a 4ft W/SW swell and periods creeping back up to 10 seconds (331 energy) – is let down by onshore wind. Not clean, not punchy.

So here’s the bottom line: If you’re desperate, Sunday morning the 26th is your best bet with that long-period SW groundswell, but keep expectations low. The whole rest of the outlook is basically flat to poor. It’s one of those August stretches where the ocean just doesn’t want to cooperate. Hang in there.

– Rusty

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