San Juan Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for San Juan. It’s a reef setup, expert-only, and it’s consistent, but we’re in for a rough stretch.

Right out of the gate, the news ain’t great. The whole 16-day window is looking pretty grim. We’ve got a lot of onshore wind, mainly from the NNE and N, blowing at 15 to 25 mph, and that’s making a mess of things. The swell is coming from the NNE and NE, which is okay, but the period is short – only 7 to 9 seconds – so it’s weak, wind-driven chop. The wave energy is moderate at best, sitting around 285 on Monday morning, and it just stays poor. We’re talking about a solid week of “poor surf conditions” with no score for any session. The winds are a constant moderate to fresh breeze, and that’s just not going to clean up the reef.

The first few days, from August 3rd through the 5th, you’re looking at 5ft to 7ft of messy, short-period swell, blown out by onshore winds. The combined energy climbs from 285 to 495, but it’s all junk. The water temp is about average for the time of year, so no surprises there. A surfer’s best bet is to stay home.

We get a bit of a bump in size from August 6th to the 8th, with swell heights hitting 8ft on Thursday morning, and the energy jumps to 754 on Thursday morning. But that’s a lot of power for a short-period swell, and with onshore-to-cross-onshore winds still blowing, it’s just going to be a washing machine. For a reef break that’s already expert-only, this is a no-go for anyone. It’s too big and messy for a paddle, and honestly, with that wind and chop, it looks more interesting for a kite session than a surf.

The second week, from August 9th onward, the swell drops back to 5ft to 3.5ft, but the wind stays stubbornly onshore from the N and NNE. The energy drops into the 200s and 100s by the end, meaning weak, weak waves. The period never gets above 9 seconds, so there’s no real groundswell to save us. The final session on August 18th has a swell of 3ft with a 9-second period, but the wind is a strong breeze at 25 mph. It’s a total write-off.

There is no standout day here. Not a single one. The best you could hope for is a tiny window on the 17th or 18th where the period stretches to 9 seconds, but the swell is too small and the wind is still on. Save your energy, lads. This is a flat spell for the reef.

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