Pismo Beach Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your board and let’s talk about the next stretch at Pismo Beach Pier. It’s gonna be a bit of a waiting game, to be honest. The next couple of weeks look pretty ordinary for us, with a lot of poor to marginal conditions. If you’re desperate, there’s a glimmer of hope around the 27th, but I’d be checking back closer to the time. Don't expect any fireworks; it’s more about those small windows of cleanish surf than any big, roaring swell.

Right now, this Friday the 21st, we’ve got a bit of weak, crumbly swell around 2ft from the SW, and with that cross-onshore breeze, it’s just gonna be a choppy mess. Not worth getting wet for. That continues into Saturday the 22nd, where the swell picks up slightly to 5ft, but it’s short-period, wind-blown stuff from the WNW. It’s still poor, that cross-onshore wind is just messing it all up. The energy is moderate at best (416 on Saturday morning), but the quality is just not there.

We stay in this rut through the 23rd and into the 24th, with similar small, wind-affected waves. The swell drops back to 2ft, and even though there's a long-period groundswell trying to show itself on the 24th, it's still crossed up. Forget about it.

Now, Tuesday the 25th is when we start to see a change. The wind goes more cross-shore, which is a minor improvement, but the swell is all over the place; 2ft in the morning, then jumping up to 5ft in the afternoon but with a terrible 6-second period. The energy is moderate (478), but it's not going to be pretty.

Things get a little more interesting from Wednesday the 26th onwards. The wave energy starts to climb, hitting strong numbers (642 on the 26th morning, 701 in the afternoon), but the waves are still small and messy, around 3ft. The wind is still cross-shore, so it’s not clean, but it’s getting closer to something rideable. This trend continues into Thursday the 27th, with that energy staying strong (712, 761). The morning has a little 4ft, 13-second SSW swell. Still marginal, but it's the best we've seen in days. The afternoon jumps to 6ft, but that’s with a short 8-second period and cross-shore wind, so expect some lumpiness.

Friday the 28th is another mixed bag. That long-period SW groundswell is there, and the energy is super strong (775 in the morning, 1104 by afternoon). But the waves are small, 2ft in the morning, and the 6ft in the afternoon is still that short-period, wind-affected stuff. It's frustrating. The energy is there, but it's not translating into quality waves on the beach.

Looking ahead to the start of next week, Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th will see some moderate-sized surf. Saturday has 3ft from the SW with that cross-shore wind, and Sunday has 5ft to 7ft from the WNW, but again, the wind is picking up (12 mph) and the period is short (8 seconds), so it’s going to be a bit of a washing machine. The energy is still strong, around 669-964, but the quality won't match the numbers.

By Monday the 31st, we’ve got a fresh cross-shore breeze of 19 mph and a 7ft short-period swell, and that just looks like a lumpy, blown-out mess. Not fun. Into September, the first week is more of the same, with smaller swells and cross-onshore winds, keeping things poor and messy.

The one faint hope is the last couple of days, around Thursday the 3rd and into the weekend of the 5th. We start seeing a more consistent, longer-period SSW swell (17-18 seconds) and the wind is predicted to go very light, almost glassy at times. The water temp is sitting around 62°, which is about average for this time of year.

The absolute best bet in this entire window looks like Thursday, September 3rd in the afternoon (Pismo Beach Pier). We’ve got a 2ft, 18-second SSW groundswell, with light winds. It’s not big, but that long-period energy and clean conditions could make for some fun, ripable waves on the higher tides. It’s a promise, not a guarantee, but it's all we've got. If the wind stays light, it could be a gem.

Rusty

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