Oswald State Park/Short Sands Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at the stretch ahead for Oswald State Park/Short Sands. It’s a bit of a tough one, I won’t lie. The next 16 days are looking pretty grim for any decent paddle surfing. The overall pattern is dominated by small, short-period wind swell and persistent cross or cross-onshore winds that are just going to keep things messy.

The water is sitting at 55°F right now, which is a whopping 4°F colder than normal for this time of year. That’s a serious anomaly, so you’ll be needing a thicker suit than usual if you’re even thinking about getting out there.

The first sniff of anything that might get your attention is this Friday morning, July 17th. We’ve got a small 3ft swell rolling in from the WNW. The period is a very long 17 seconds, which means it’s proper groundswell, but it’s wrapping in with a cross-onshore breeze from the SW at 6 mph. The combined energy is moderate, sitting at 515. The wave comment says “marginal,” and I’d agree. The cleanest it’ll look is Friday afternoon with a light onshore wind, but it’s still only 3ft. It’s not a standout, just the best of a bad lot.

Saturday, July 18th, the wind kicks up from the NNW at 12–16 mph, making a choppy mess of the same small 2ft swell. Scores are a zero. Sunday, July 19th, sees a bump in height to 4–5ft, but the period drops to a weak 8 seconds, and the wind is still awful. It’s a write-off.

We get a brief window Monday morning, July 20th, with a clean onshore breeze from the WNW at only 3 mph. The swell is 5ft, but the period is that short 8 seconds, so it’s going to be a weak, mushy wave. The energy is moderate (451), but it’s really not worth the paddle. The tide is questionable too.

After that, it’s basically a wasteland of poor conditions and zero scores until we get to the very end of the month. The only other thing worth noting is the afternoon of Saturday, July 25th, over a week away. We have a very long period groundswell from the SW at 21 seconds, with a small 2ft wave and a clean onshore wind. The combined energy jumps up to 561. That’s a big number for such a small wave, meaning there’s a lot of energy in the water, but it’s going to be very straight and hard to catch at a beach break like Short Sands. It’s a tease, but it’s not a call to action.

The run of poor or marginal surf stretches for days on end. Honestly, for the next two weeks, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, given the persistent cross-shore winds and the small, short-period junk. Stay patient, and hope the forecasts change.

Rusty.

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