Salmon Creek Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s have a look at what’s going on here, crew.

Things are pretty grim for a long stretch. The whole first week, from Wednesday the 29th of July right through to Monday the 3rd of August, is basically a write-off. Nearly everything is blown out by strong onshore winds, or the conditions are just plain messy. After that, we get a slow and sketchy improvement, but it’s still mostly marginal.

The real highlight, the only one worth circling on your calendar, falls on Thursday the 6th of August. That morning at Salmon Creek, we get a clean 5ft swell out of the NW with a solid 10-second period. Light cross-offshore winds from the south at 6 mph will have it looking smooth. The combined energy is moderate (554). Sure, it’s not huge, but after a long dry spell, this is the best shot you’ll get. And because it’s Salmon Creek, which is very consistent and exposed to the WSW, you can trust it to show up. Water temp is around 57°, which is dead average for this time of year.

The morning of Wednesday the 5th of August is worth a mention too –it’s a similar setup with 4ft from the WNW, 10-second period, and light cross-offshore breeze. It’s not the standout, but it could be a decent warm-up.

After that, from Friday the 7th onwards, the swell stays in the 6ft to 8ft range, and sometimes bigger, but nearly every session is plagued by cross-onshore or onshore winds. There’s morning after morning of cleaner conditions with light breezes, but the report keeps saying “marginal surf forecast” so I’m not getting too excited. The period drops to 8 to 9 seconds, so the shape will be a bit weaker.

The very end of the run, around the 12th and 13th, sees the swell drop right off to 2ft and 3ft from the SW with a long 16-17 second period. That’s proper groundswell, and while Salmon Creek isn’t a reef or point, it might offer a few clean, fat waves if the tide plays nice. Still, it’s a big old gap from the good stuff earlier.

For the whole 16 days, there’s no period of consistent, high-quality surf. The first recommendation doesn’t appear until the 5th of August. There’s a long stretch of nothing from the start until then.

Stay patient, and keep an eye on that Thursday the 6th.

Rusty.

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