Oswald State Park/Short Sands Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for Oswald State Park/Short Sands.

Honestly, the next week and a half is a bit of a struggle. The swell is tiny and the wind is mostly junk. We’re looking at a long stretch of marginal-to-poor conditions, so don’t go getting your hopes up for anything clean. The water is running a bit colder than usual for this time of year, sittin’ around 56°, with a notable anomaly of 3° colder, so you’ll feel that chill.

The first sliver of hope shows up on Friday morning, July 24th, with some small 1ft swell from the SW with a 26-second period. That’s a very long period groundswell, which can be tricky at a beach break like this, but the energy is there (371). The wind is a light cross-onshore, though, so it’ll be a bit bumpy. The surf is poor, but it’s the best we’ve got to start. Through the weekend, the swell bumps up to 3ft-3ft, but the wind is swinging around cross and cross-onshore, keeping it messy. The waves are weak and choppy, and the crowds are sometimes a factor here, so don’t expect a quiet line-up.

Monday July 27th morning sees a brief window of clean conditions with light offshore wind from the WSW and 3ft SW swell. The period is still long at 18 seconds, making for some decent shape. The energy is moderate (476). This is probably the standout of the first week, but it’s still just a marginal session. The best surf is Monday morning with a westerly offshore breeze and that waist-high, long-period SW groundswell—it’s your best bet for a clean wave.

After that, it’s back to grim. Tuesday through Thursday is mostly cross-shore winds and lumpy, poor surf. The swell stays around 2ft-3ft, but the wind is a mess. By Friday August 1st, the swell picks up a little to 3ft, but the period drops to a short 8 seconds, which is weak and wonky. The energy is low (215). The wind is still cross-shore. Not great.

Then we hit a bit of a run. From August 4th, the swell pushes up to 5ft-7ft from the NW. This is bigger, but it’s short-period (8-9 seconds), so it’ll be lumpy and disorganized. The wind is cross-on from the NW, making it choppy. On August 5th, the swell hits 7ft, which is getting into expert-only territory, and the energy is high (881). The best of this batch is probably Tuesday afternoon, August 5th, with 6ft NW swell, a 9-second period, and moderate energy (556). The wind is a gentle cross-onshore, so it’s still messy, but it’s the biggest swell of the forecast. If you’re a strong paddler and don’t mind a chop, that’s your window.

The rest of the second week fades back to 4ft-5ft with cross-shore wind. Nothing to write home about.

Bleak, I know. But it tends not to stay poor for long here, and forecasts can change. For now, the only real standout is Monday morning July 27th with clean offshore wind and that long-period SW groundswell. It’s not epic, but it’s the best we’ve got.

Rusty.

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