Playa Santa Catalina Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, with your local surf outlook for Playa Santa Catalina.

First up, the good news: the water is sitting at a balmy 85°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year. Over the next 16 days, we’re looking at a consistent run of small, clean groundswells, but nothing massive. The energy is moderate, with readings consistently in the 400s, occasionally dropping into the 200s.

Kicking things off this Sunday morning, the 6th of September, we have a 3ft SSW groundswell with a long 15-second period. The wind is a light cross-offshore, making for clean conditions. That's a solid start, but it’s not the standout of the window.

The real standout comes on Wednesday morning, the 9th of September. The swell drops slightly to 2ft from the SSW, but the period is still a meaty 16 seconds. The wind goes glassy, which is a major positive. It’s going to be clean as a whistle out there. The combined swell energy is a solid 379, showing there’s still plenty of push for a wave that size.

Another beauty to mark on your calendar is Thursday the 10th of September, in the afternoon. The wind goes glassy again, and the swell ticks back up to 3ft from the SSW at 16 seconds. That’s a really nice combo.

The morning of Friday the 11th of September is also glassy, with a 3ft SSW swell. The 16-second period means long waits between sets, but the waves will be clean and well-shaped. The combined energy is 409.

We see a pattern of clean, glassy mornings, especially around the 12th and 13th, with the swell slowly fading. By Monday the 14th, the swell drops to 1.0ft, but it’s still glassy. Things stay small for a few days, but there’s another run of clean mornings from the 15th through the 18th, with the swell sitting between 2ft and 3ft. The 15th, 16th, and 17th all have mornings with light offshore winds, and the 18th is dead calm with a glassy 2ft SSW swell. That’s a great run.

Further out, the 20th of September morning looks glassy with a 1ft long-period SSW swell, and the 21st is glassy again. These are longer-range calls, so keep an eye on them, but the pattern looks promising for a clean, if small, morning session.

All up, the pick of the forecast is Wednesday the 9th of September and Thursday the 10th of September for the glassy conditions and a touch more size. The 11th is also right up there. If you want the cleanest waves with the best shape, those are your mornings. After that, it’s a game of small, clean waves right through to the end of the outlook.

Rusty.

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