Playa El Palmar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty here with the rundown in feet and Fahrenheit.

I gotta be honest with you—this is a grim outlook. The entire 16-day stretch for Playa El Palmar is looking flat and lifeless. We're talking a long run of poor surf conditions with barely any energy in the water. From Thursday the 3rd right through the weekend, the waves are tiny, mostly around 0.7ft to 1.0ft, and the combined energy is just pitiful—single digits and low double digits like 4, 6, or 20. That's not surf, that's a bathtub.

The first real glimmer of hope comes on Monday the 7th morning. We'll see a tiny 1.0ft swell from the west with a long period of 14 seconds. The combined energy climbs to 76 (moderate wave energy), and the wind is glassy from the ESE. That's about as clean as it gets, but the waves are just too small to get excited about. The water temp is 69°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year—about 3° cooler than average.

The rest of the first week and into the second week is more of the same. We see a few mornings with clean offshore winds, especially on the 11th (Friday) when it goes glassy, but the swell is consistently 0.7ft to 1ft. The combined energy never gets much above 18. It's weak, period. The swell direction is mostly from the west or west-northwest, and the optimum for this spot is southwest, so nothing is really lining up right.

The best looking session in the whole 16-day window has to be Monday morning, the 7th of September. It's the only time the energy gets into the moderate range, and with glassy conditions, it's the cleanest the water will be. But don't kid yourself—it's tiny. For a beginner, it might be a fun float, but for anyone looking for a proper wave, it's a pass.

From the 8th onward, the wind turns onshore for a few days, and the swell remains tiny. The 12th and 13th see a bit of a pick-up with period hitting 9-10 seconds, but the height is still only 0.7ft to 1.0ft. The combined energy is stuck in the 11-18 range. It's just not happening.

The last few days of the forecast, from the 15th to the 18th, offer a few clean windows with offshore winds, but again, the swell is negligible. The 17th (Thursday) morning sees a 2ft swell with a 5-second period and a moderate offshore breeze from the east, but the combined energy is only 29 (weak). A short period swell like that with almost no energy is just messy.

So, to wrap it up: there's nothing worth paddling out for here. The whole 16-day window is a flat spell with only a brief moment of clean, glassy conditions on the 7th, but with no size to back it up. If you're desperate for a paddle and a tan, maybe Monday morning the 7th is your best bet. Otherwise, leave the boards at home.

Rusty.

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