Oswald State Park/Short Sands Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, friends, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s cookin’ out there.

Honestly, this is a tough stretch. The next 16 days look pretty flat and messy overall. We’re looking at a real dry spell, with not much to get excited about. The first few days have some small, weak swell, but the wind is just never your friend, and the water is running a bit colder than normal for this time of year, hovering around 56°F with an anomaly of -3°F, so it’s a bit nippy for late July.

The strongest energy we see comes in on Saturday the 25th, with a combined energy reading of 752 for the afternoon, but that’s attached to a 3ft SW swell with a short period of 21 seconds and a 16 mph cross-shore wind. It’s going to be bumpy, choppy, and frankly, not worth the paddle. The whole first week is plagued by cross-shore and cross-onshore winds, and the surf quality is rated as poor or marginal. The swell is small, mostly around 2ft to 3ft, and the period is dropping from the low 20s down into the teens. It’s just not shaping up.

If I had to pick the least bad option, I’d point you to *Oswald State Park/Short Sands*. It’s your only break with any data, so that’s where we’re stuck. For a beginner spot that is fairly consistent, the best morning is probably Sunday the 26th. You’ve got a 3ft SW swell with a 20-second period and a gentler 9 mph cross-shore wind. The combined energy is moderate at 604, but it’s still a cross-shore, so expect some chop. The afternoon that day sees the wind drop to just 3 mph, becoming a light cross-onshore with small ripples, and the swell nudges up to 3ft with a 19-second period and moderate energy of 678. It’s the cleanest the wind will be all week, but it’s still onshore, so it’s not glassy.

After that, it’s a long grind. From Monday the 27th all the way through to Saturday the 9th of August, the outlook is grim. Every session is marked as poor or marginal. The swell sticks between 2ft and 5ft, but the period drops into the single digits by late in the window (6-8 seconds), which is just short-period wind chop, not real groundswell. The wind stays cross or cross-onshore, mostly from the NNW at 9-16 mph, making for choppy, bumpy conditions. There is no standout, no hidden gem. The best we get is a 4ft to 5ft WNW swell on the 2nd and 4th of August, but it’s wrapped in moderate to strong wind and sloppy energy. For a beginner spot like this, anything over 5ft starts to get big, but with the poor quality and constant chop, it’s not even drawing in the kooks.

In short, leave the boards in the car for the next two weeks. This is a classic summer flat spell. The forecasts can change, but right now, it’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

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