San Juan Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it.

Honestly, looking at the whole 16-day window for San Juan, it’s a rough stretch. The swell is onshore and messy for almost the entire run, and the wind is a real problem. We’re looking at a solid week of poor surf conditions, with the first real chance of anything surfable not showing up until Sunday the 13th of September, and even then it’s only marginal.

The first few days are a write-off. Monday the 7th through to the following Saturday the 12th are all “poor surf conditions” with moderate to fresh breezes blowing straight onshore. Swell heights bounce around from 3 ft to 7 ft, but it’s all short-period, choppy windswell from the N or NNE, and the wave energy is moderate (between 266 and 557). It’s just not worth paddling out.

Sunday the 13th of September finally offers a tiny glimmer. The wind drops right off to a slight air in the morning with a light breeze in the afternoon, both onshore. The swell is 5 ft from the NNE with a period of 8 seconds, but it’s still only a “marginal” call. The wave energy is weak to moderate (259-297). It’s not great, but it’s the first session that might be worth a look if you’re desperate.

Monday the 14th of September sees a shift in swell direction to the NNW, with a period bumping up to 13 seconds in the morning, which is a long-period groundswell. That’s promising for the reef setup here, and the swell height is 3 ft. The wind is light cross-onshore, creating small ripples. Wave energy is moderate (346). This is about as good as it gets across the whole period, but it’s still a marginal day.

After that, it’s more of the same. The wind picks up again on Tuesday the 15th, and by Wednesday the 16th, we’re back into moderate to fresh onshore winds with 7 ft to 8 ft of messy, short-period windswell. The wave energy gets strong on Thursday the 17th (654) and Friday the 18th (1278) with 10 ft swell, but it’s all onshore and lumpy. That’s big, ugly, and only for the most hardcore experts, and even then, it’s not clean.

Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th of September see the swell drop back to 4 ft with moderate cross-onshore winds, keeping it choppy. The rest of the window into the 22nd is just small, weak, and onshore.

So, the standout? It’s a weak one, but Monday the 14th of September is the pick. The NNW swell at 3 ft with a 13-second period will have some shape and power on the reef, and the light winds, while not perfectly offshore, are the best we’ll see. It’s a marginal day, but it’s the only one that even hints at a clean wave.

Otherwise, this is a classic blank run for the area. When the trade winds lock in from the north, San Juan just gets hammered. We’ve got a 6-day gap of no surf recommendations from the 7th to the 12th, and then only a couple of marginal days before it goes ugly again. It won’t stay poor forever, but this forecast is a tough one to swallow.

Rusty.

Read more