Otter Rock Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee and listen up. Rusty here, and I’ve been staring at the charts for our little stretch of coast.

Honestly, the next couple of weeks are a bit of a mixed bag. We’ve got some small, clean windows, but we’re mostly dealing with choppy, cross-off conditions that are messing with the wave quality. The good news is that the swell energy is on the rise as we head deeper into the second week, but it comes with its own set of problems.

Let’s start at the beginning. There’s a gap right now with nothing worth paddling out for. We kick off Monday the 10th with clean skies but poor surf – a tiny 1 ft SW groundswell with a period of 15 seconds. But that long period, combined with a stiff 12 mph cross wind from the NNW, just chops it to bits. Wave energy is weak at 174, and the water is a freezing 52°F, which is about 7°F colder than normal. That’s very unusual for this time of year. It’s a no-go.

Tuesday the 11th and Wednesday the 12th are more of the same: tiny swells, 1.0 ft to 1 ft, and wind stays cross-onshore. Nothing clean. The combined energy jumps a little on the 12th (296 and 310), but it’s still a choppy mess.

Thursday the 13th we finally see a pulse of swell, pushing 4 ft to 5 ft from the NW with a short period of just 7-8 seconds. It’s weak energy and the onshore wind chops it up. It’s still poor.

Friday the 14th and Saturday the 15th are finally *marginal*. The swell drops back to 2 ft-4 ft, but we get light cross-onshore winds. It's not good, but it's the first time it's not terrible. The combined energy is moderate on the 15th (233-252).

Heading into the second week, things start to look a little more promising, but it’s all still a bit rough.

From Sunday the 16th to Wednesday the 19th, the swell stays small to moderate (2 ft to 3 ft) with light cross-onshore winds. The water temp anomaly data stops, but the wave energy is moderate. We finally get a proper *onshore* wind on Tuesday afternoon the 18th, which at least cleans up the surface a little, but the swell is only 2 ft.

Then Thursday the 20th through Saturday the 22nd, we get a moderate 3 ft swell from the west, but the wind is still cross-onshore, so it’s rough. The energy is solid (390-396), but the quality is poor.

Now, the true standouts of the entire forecast are Monday the 24th and Tuesday the 25th. The swell builds seriously – 5 ft to 6 ft from the WNW, with a period of 10 seconds. The combined energy hits strong levels: 653 on Monday morning and peaking at 943 on Tuesday afternoon. The wind finally turns *cross-shore* on Monday and Tuesday, which is a huge improvement. It’s still going to have a little chop, but this is the best on offer. This is a classic Otter Rock (Oregon) setup when the swell comes from the west-northwest.

The standout sessions are Monday the 24th morning and Tuesday the 25th morning. The swell is 5 ft to 6 ft, which is solid. It’s not huge, but it’s the biggest, cleanest window we get. Monday looks best with a lighter 9 mph cross breeze. Tuesday has stronger 16 mph wind, which will add some chop. This is expert territory as it's over 5 ft.

For the rest of the time? Honestly, the persistent cross-onshore wind makes most of the small stuff unrideable. The later swell is bigger, but the onshore flow will keep it messy. If you're not a fan of choppy, windblown lines, this is a tough stretch.

For kite surfers, the constant cross and cross-onshore winds with the bigger swell on the 23rd-25th will be far more interesting than for a paddle surfer.

So, hold tight for that 24th and 25th. That’s your window. Book the day off.

Rusty.

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