San Mateo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what San Mateo has in store for us over the next couple of weeks.

Straight up, it’s a patchy outlook. The first couple of days, Thursday the 23rd and Friday the 24th of July, are a write-off. The swell is tiny – we’re talking ankle-snappers at best – and the wind is messing things up with a cross-chop. Not worth paddling out for.

The first real glimmer of hope is Saturday morning, July 25th. The wind drops right out, going glassy, and that’s a huge deal for a point break like this. We’ve got a 3.3ft swell from the SW with a period of 19 seconds. That’s a long-period groundswell, which means proper shape and energy, though on a point it should line up beautifully. The combined swell energy is moderate at 775 – enough to get you moving. It’s an advanced wave, inconsistent, so you’ll be waiting for sets. But if you’re on it, those waves will be clean and lined up. Crowds are *sometimes* around, so you might have company.

Sunday morning, July 26th is another standout. Again, glassy conditions with a light wind from the SE – doesn’t get much better for clean faces. The swell picks up just a touch to 3.6ft from the SW, period dropping to 17 seconds – still a long groundswell, still good energy (795). This is your best bet for a smooth, peeling wave.

After that, the week gets messier. Monday the 27th through Wednesday the 29th sees the swell building to 4.9ft, but the wind swings onshore and chops everything up. The energy is high (over 1000 on Monday), but it’s not going to be pretty. Too big and blown out for the average punter, and for a point break, that cross-onshore wind will kill the line. Thursday the 30th and Friday the 31st sees the swell dropping back down, but the wind is still a problem – cross-shore chop. Not worth it.

Into the first week of August, from the 1st to the 7th, it’s a pretty flat, blown-out string of days. The swell is under 3.3ft for most of it, and when it does bump up slightly, the wind is never favourable. The combined energy drops right off into the double digits and low hundreds. It’s a long, quiet stretch with no clear windows. The water temperature is about average for the time of year, so nothing unusual to report on that front.

Overall, the only real windows to get excited about are that Saturday and Sunday – the 25th and 26th of July – when the glassy mornings give us clean, long-period groundswell. The rest is a gamble at best, and mostly a dud.

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