San Juan Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’m lookin’ at the San Juan forecast for the next couple weeks. Straight up, I gotta be honest with you – the outlook is a real bummer for us paddlers. The conditions are just not playin' ball.

The whole 16-day window is a tough one. The main issue is that the wind is hammerin' us from the north and north-northeast, right onshore, almost every single day. When you’ve got a reef break like San Juan that needs clean conditions, a constant 9 to 25 mph onshore wind just ruins the surface. It’s gonna be bumpy, choppy, and messy.

Even though there’s a bit of swell, it’s all short-period windswell, mostly under 8 seconds. That means the waves are gonna be weak and disorganized. The combined energy of all swells is moderate early on, but it’s all for nothing because the wind is so bad. The water temp is about average for the time of year, so no surprises there.

The surf does get bigger as we go into the second week. By the 13th of August, we’re looking at 8ft swell from the northeast with a period of 8 seconds. But again, the wind is still howling onshore at 19 mph. At that size, it’s more for experts, but the chop will make it a real struggle. By the 14th, it’s 7ft, but the wind is even stronger at 25 mph. Honestly, with that much wind and poor quality, the setup starts looking more interesting for kite surfing than it does for a paddle session.

The closest we get to a decent look is maybe the 16th of August, but it’s still onshore, still choppy, with a 6ft, 8-second swell. There’s just no standout window here. The wind never lets up.

There’s not a single day in this 16-day run where I’d say "go for it." This is a blank run, and for San Juan, that’s a pretty normal thing when the trade winds don't cooperate. Forecasts can change, but right now, I’d save your energy and wait for a better pattern.

Rusty.

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