Pismo Beach Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. Look, I’ll be straight with you—this 16-day window for Pismo Beach Pier is a tough one. We’ve got a run of pretty ordinary, marginal conditions, and it’s going to take a while before things start looking half-decent. The water temp is sitting at about 61°F, which is pretty much normal for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The first few days are a write-off. Thursday the 3rd is a no-go with poor surf, and from Friday the 4th all the way through to Monday the 7th, it’s nothing but marginal surf with cross-onshore winds. Swell is mostly small—around 3 ft to 5 ft—coming from the SSW or SW, with periods around 14 to 17 seconds. That long-period groundswell is a bit tricky for a beach break like this, tends to close out. The wind is light to gentle but it’s always cross-onshore, which leaves the surface choppy and messy. Combined energy sits in the 430 to 829 range, so moderate energy at best, but the quality just isn’t there.

Tuesday the 8th and Wednesday the 9th offer a slight flicker. On Tuesday morning, we’ve got 5 ft swell from the SSW at 13 seconds, with light cross-onshore breezes from the WSW at 6 mph. It’s still only marginal, but the combined energy is up around 831—that’s moderate energy. Wednesday morning is similar: 5 ft from the SSW at 12 seconds, light NW wind at 6 mph shifting to cross-shore in the arvo. Still, it’s just not enough to get excited about.

Then things get messy again. Thursday the 10th brings a big jump in wind—by the afternoon we’re looking at a strong 25 mph SSE breeze with 7 ft SSW windswell at just 10 seconds. That’s a combined energy of 1034, which is strong energy, but the wind is going to trash it completely. This is more of a kite-surfing setup than a paddle-surfing one.

From Friday the 11th through to Monday the 14th, it’s back to poor or marginal conditions. Swell drops and gets short and weak. The period on the 12th and 13th falls to just 7 or 8 seconds—windswell—with heights from 5 ft up to 8 ft on the Sunday afternoon. But again, it’s all cross-onshore and messy. The bigger days over 8 ft are really only for the experts anyway, but with that wind, it’s not worth it.

Now, let’s skip ahead to the real standout. Wednesday the 16th morning is the only time in the whole forecast that gets close to what we want. The wind goes glassy—dead calm, just a slight air from the west at 3 mph. Swell is tiny at 1 ft from the SW with a long 16-second period, and combined energy is low at 176. It’s surfable but very ordinary. Still, that glassy surface is a rare treat in this run. If you’re desperate for a paddle, that’s your window, but don’t expect much push.

After that, Thursday the 17th and Friday the 18th are still marginal. Friday morning does bring a 2 ft SW swell with a very long 20-second period and combined energy of 576. That’s a proper groundswell, but it’s tiny and the wind is light cross-onshore. The long period will offer some shape but at a beach break like Pismo, it might just slide through.

Overall, this is a thin run. If you’re after clean, rideable surf, you’re going to be waiting. The standout is really just that glassy morning on the 16th, but it’s small. Everything else is choppy, marginal, or wind-affected. Crowds are sometimes an issue here, but on these conditions, I reckon you’ll have it mostly to yourself.

Rusty.

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