Salmon Creek Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a hard look at Salmon Creek. It’s a pretty bleak stretch ahead, with the first real glimmers of hope not showing up until next week. We’ve got a long, frustrating gap of nothing but onshore wind and poor conditions through the rest of this week and into the weekend. Hang in there.

We kick off Thursday the 20th with a small, sloppy 3 ft swell from the WNW and a period around 12 seconds, but the onshore wind blowing 6 to 12 mph is a killer. Combined wave energy is moderate (475), but it’s just a bad mix. Friday and Saturday are more of the same – onshore junk and scores of zero. The swell tries to bump up on Saturday afternoon to 6 ft, but it’s a short-period 6-second chop with 19 mph onshore wind. That combo is more kite-surfing territory than paddle surfing, honestly.

Sunday the 23rd offers a slight reprieve. The wind goes light and cross-shore in the morning, with a 4 ft WNW swell. It’s still just getting a weak score in my book, and the energy is moderate (426). The surf is marginal, but the lighter wind might make it look a little better than anything we’ve seen.

The first real highlight appears on Monday morning, the 24th of August. We get a small but clean 2 ft swell from the southwest, and here’s the key: the wind is light and cross-offshore, so those waves will be glassy. The period is a very long 18 seconds, which is proper groundswell energy. This long-period groundswell will wrap in nicely at this exposed break. The combined energy is moderate (409). The water temp is about average for the time of year, no drama there. It’s tiny, so only for the patient ones on a log, but it’s the cleanest thing on offer for days. Crowds are possible here.

Tuesday morning the 25th follows a similar pattern – another clean, cross-offshore morning with a 2 ft SW swell and a 16-second period. More of the same glassy, small-wave potential.

Then it gets messy again. Wednesday the 26th sees a jump in size – 5 ft from the NW with a short 8-second period – but the wind goes light cross-shore in the morning. The energy jumps to strong (736). It’s a borderline one, but still just marginal.

After that, we’re back into a long stretch of onshore wind and poor surf. The swell is there, with some 6 ft to 7 ft NW pulses, but the wind is on it, ruining it all. There’s a small window on the morning of Friday the 28th where the swell is around 6 ft and the wind is light, but still onshore.

Looking way out to Saturday morning, the 29th of August, we get a 3 ft swell from the southwest at an 18-second period. That’s another long-period groundswell. The combined energy is very strong (1046), which is huge for that size, meaning it’s packing a punch. But again, the wind is light onshore. It’s a promising long-range call, but with the wind not playing ball, it’s a waiting game.

After that, it’s a wasteland of onshore junk right through to the end of the first week of September. Windy and poor. The only tiny glimmer is the morning of September 3rd, with a 5 ft WNW swell and light cross-onshore wind.

If you’re looking for the standout, it’s Monday the 24th of August morning, for the cleanest surf of the whole run. If you can wait, Saturday the 29th could be special if the wind backs off.

Rusty.

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