San Juan Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let's talk about the surf outlook for San Juan over the next couple of weeks.

Alright, look, I’ve got to be straight with you. For a place with the reputation of San Juan, this forecast is a tough pill to swallow. We’ve got a long, drawn-out period of mostly onshore winds and messy conditions that’ll keep the quality way down. The first real glimmer of hope doesn't show up until Monday, the 21st of September. Before that, it’s a lot of chop and closeouts.

For the next week, we’re battling a persistent northerly wind. On Tuesday, the 15th, we have a weak 2ft swell from the NNW, but it’s blown out by 12 mph onshore winds. It stays poor right through to the weekend. We see a bump in size around Thursday the 17th, with swell hitting 7ft from the NNE, and the combined energy climbing to 535, but with a fresh 22 mph onshore wind, it’s just a washing machine. That's expert-only territory if you dare, but the quality will be terrible. By Saturday the 19th, we’re dropping to 6ft from the north, but it’s still cross-onshore and choppy. Not worth paddling out.

Now, the real standout, and the only time I’d recommend wetting a line, is on Monday morning, the 21st of September. The stars briefly align. We’ve got a clean 3ft groundswell from the NNW with a solid 12-second period. The combined energy is a moderate 322. But the kicker is the wind: it goes glassy. Dead calm. For a reef break like San Juan, that’s the dream. It’ll be clean, lined-up, and offering some nice, rideable walls. Being a consistent spot that’s exposed to the NNW, this is the session to target. Crowds are possible as it’s a known spot, but for that quality of glass, it’s worth the company.

After that, the winds shift back onshore for the rest of the week, and we're back to marginal conditions with weak, short-period windswell from the north. The period drops to 8 seconds, and the energy fades. The second week looks flat and unfavourable overall. There is a pulse of longer-period NW swell around Friday the 25th, hitting 4ft with a 15-second period and combined energy of 541, but once again, it’s blown out by onshore winds. It’s a classic case of a promising swell direction and period ruined by the local wind.

So, to sum it up: unless you can get out on Monday the 21st during that glassy window, the next two weeks are a write-off for quality surfing in San Juan. The water temp is hovering around 74°, which is pretty standard for this time of year.

Rusty.

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