San Juan Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this outlook for San Juan is a tough one to write. I’ve looked over the next 16 days, and honestly, there’s not a single good surf option on the table. The whole stretch is a write-off for quality waves.

We start with Saturday the 5th of September. The water’s sitting at 75°, which is about a degree and a half warmer than usual for this time of year, so that’s a nice thing. But the surf? Forget it. It’s a small, weak 4ft swell from the north with a short, gutless period of just 6 seconds. The combined energy is a measly 138 – that’s weak. And to top it off, we’ve got a strong onshore wind blowing at 12 mph. It’s a cloudy, messy, disappointing scene.

This sad pattern just locks in. Day after day we see the same story: the wind is blowing onshore at 15 to 22 mph, crushing any chance of clean surf. The swell height bounces between 5ft and 7ft, but the period stays short, between 6 and 8 seconds, so it’s just a jumbled-up, wind-affected mess. The combined energy picks up a bit, hitting 493 on the 7th and 576 on the 11th, but it doesn’t matter because the wind is ruining everything. The wave comment is “poor surf conditions” over and over again.

We finally get a bit of a break in the wind on the 14th of September, with a light breeze. But the swell has dropped to a tiny 3ft from the north, and the period is still a short 8 seconds. The combined energy sits at 290 – moderate but weak. We get a “marginal” forecast at best, but it’s nothing to drive for. The swell direction is north, and this spot wants a northwest swell, so it’s not even the right angle.

The very end of the run, around the 20th of September, sees the swell drop away to nothing – 2ft to 2ft with a period of 10 seconds, and combined energy down to 123. The wind is still cross-onshore and choppy. It’s a total fizzer.

Look, I know this is a bummer. But when you see a spot rated as “consistent” with a reef setup that needs a specific swell direction, and the wind is blowing the wrong way for the whole 16-day window, you just have to call it. It’s a blank run. In this area, it’s not unusual to get a stretch like this. The forecasts can change, but right now, there’s nothing to get excited about. Put your board away and wait for the next one.

Rusty.

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