San Clemente State Park Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it.

We’ve got a bit of a slow start here. The next couple of days are looking pretty underwhelming. For Wednesday, there’s just not enough energy in the water to get excited about. We’re looking at knee-high dribbles at best, maybe 2ft on the sets, with a bit of texture on it during the afternoon. The water temperature is sitting at 71°, which is a good couple of degrees warmer than usual for this time of year, so that’s a nice bonus if you’re just keen for a paddle. Still, it’s not a day to cancel plans for.

Thursday sees a touch more size, with the swell filling in to around 3ft. The period is a solid 16-17 seconds, so there’s some quality to it, but the cross-onshore breeze is just enough to keep it from being glassy. It’ll be workable, but nothing special. The energy is moderate at 644 on Thursday morning.

Friday and the weekend are pretty grim. The wind swings more southerly and picks up to 9 mph, making things choppy and messy. The swell drops off slightly, and the conditions just look poor. This is a stretch where you’re better off finding something else to do. We’re talking a few days with pretty much nothing worth surfing.

There’s a slight reprieve on Sunday afternoon as the wind dies right off and the period jumps up to 19 seconds, but the swell is tiny at 1ft. Still, that long period means there might be a clean little bank if you’re desperate for a slide on the log.

The start of the next week, Monday the 14th and Tuesday the 15th, continues the poor trend. The swell stays small, around 1ft to 2ft, with a cross-onshore wind messing things up. Then we get a bit of a pick-up midweek, from Wednesday the 16th through Friday the 18th. The swell comes up to a more rideable 3ft, the direction is a touch more southerly, and the periods stay reasonably long. The winds turn light and sometimes offshore, which will clean it right up. This looks like the first genuinely surfable stretch of the forecast.

For the second week, things get a little more interesting. Over the weekend of the 20th and into Monday the 22nd, sees the swell build a bit more, pushing to 3ft. The energy in the water is on the rise too, getting up to around 684 on Sunday afternoon. It still won’t be big, but the consistency should be better with the longer period swells. The light cross-onshore winds will be the main thing to watch. The standout in this window is the Sunday the 20th, with clean lines and that moderate-strong energy. It’s a promising stretch, but remember, the further out you go, the less certain it is.

The last few days of the forecast kind of fizzle out. The last week of September sees the swell hanging in there at around 3ft, but the periods start to drop off a bit and the winds stay light and cross-onshore. It’s not bad, but it’s not a huge finish. All in all, if you’re looking for the best waves in the next 16 days, keep your eyes on that mid-period from the 16th through the 22nd. It’s not giant, but it’s the cleanest and most consistent we’re going to get.

Rusty out.

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