Rockaway Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’m gonna level with you. I’ve been staring at the charts for Rockaway and honestly, it’s a bit of a tough stretch. The whole 16-day window is a real struggle. There’s no standout session, no hidden gem, just a whole lot of “poor surf conditions” with no recommendations coming through. We’ve got a real blank run here.

The water is sitting at 76°F which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so the ocean feels a bit bath-like, but that’s about the only positive.

Thursday morning, the 20th, starts with the tiniest of slop – 1ft of SE swell, only 9 seconds apart, and the combined energy is a weak 26. Glassy conditions thanks to a light SW wind, but honestly, there’s nothing to ride. This flatness continues through the weekend. Friday the 21st, we get a 2ft easterly windswell, but with a period of just 5 seconds, it’s just messy and weak. Saturday the 22nd, the swell direction shifts and bumps up to 3ft from the east, but the period is still a pathetic 5 seconds, and we’ve got 16 mph cross-shore winds making it choppy. Not surfable.

Sunday the 23rd morning offers a brief moment of clean conditions with a cross-offshore breeze from the WSW, but the swell is only 2ft from the SE, so it’s more of a paddle than a session. The afternoons all week are plagued by onshore winds or cross-shore chop.

We get a little glimmer on Monday the 24th – a clean, clear morning with a cross-offshore wind from the WNW, but the swell drops to 1ft. The period does jump to 12 seconds, so there’s a bit of long-period energy in the water, but it’s just not enough height to do anything with. The combined energy is only 38, so it’s weak. Monday afternoon the wind picks up to 19 mph, still clean, but same tiny swell.

The rest of the week, from the 25th to the 31st, is more of the same: tiny swells, poor periods, and onshore or cross-shore winds. The mornings of the 26th and 27th show a slight bump to 3ft, but the period drops to 6-7 seconds, so it’s just windswell mush with a combined energy of 76 and 59, respectively. Not worth a second look.

We finally see a change on the 4th of September, with a bigger swell arriving – 5ft to 5ft from the ESE and east, with periods of 7-8 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 203 and 265, so there’s finally some moderate power. But the wind is onshore from the ESE at 12 mph, and the conditions are still classed as poor. The swell direction is from the SSE optimum, which is okay, but the onshore wind and short period mean it’ll be a bumpy, wind-affected mess. This is too big for beginners, but the quality is just not there for anyone.

For the whole 16 days, the forecast is a total shutout. In an area like Rockaway, this kind of blank run is more normal than you’d like. Sometimes it just be like that. Keep an eye on the charts, but for now, I’d find something else to do.

Rusty.

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