San Mateo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s break down the next couple of weeks at San Mateo. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, but a couple of windows are worth setting the alarm for.

The pattern kicks off with a decent pulse of swell, but the wind is gonna mess with the first day or two. Then it drops way off into a real slow spell before some longer-period energy rolls in during the first week of August.

The first real action is Wednesday the 29th of July, early. San Mateo is a point break open to NW swell, and we’ve got a SW groundswell running at 5ft with a long 15-second period. That’s some proper juice – the combined swell energy is a solid 845. The water is way warmer than normal for this time of year, sitting at 81°. Winds are light and cross-offshore from the south at just 3 mph. It’s gonna be clean, glassy, lined-up waves. This is the pick of the forecast, no doubt. Crowds can show up here sometimes, so get in early. But this wave is for advanced surfers and it’s inconsistent, so don’t expect it to pump all session.

By Wednesday afternoon the wind swings onshore, chopping things up. Thursday the 30th and Friday the 31st stay mediocre with cross-shore breezes and dropping swell size. The energy fades from 529 down to 323 by Friday morning. It’s just too messy to bother.

From Saturday the 1st of August through to Wednesday the 6th of August, it’s flat. Wave heights hang around 2ft to 3ft, mostly weak cross-shore wind, combined energy dropping into the low 100s and even down to 79 at one point. You might get a dribbler, but that’s about it. That’s a solid five days of nothing.

Now here’s the next bright spot. Thursday morning the 6th of August. It’s not big – only 2ft – but it’s a long-period 14-second SW groundswell and the wind is dead calm, glassy from the northwest. Combined energy is 259, which is moderate. It’ll be clean and workable, but small. A fun session on a log or a mid-length if you’re patient. Afternoon goes onshore again.

The following week has a couple of pulses that look more promising than certain. On Friday the 7th of August we see a jump – 4ft from the SW with a 16-second period, combined energy 694. That’s a proper groundswell, but the wind is cross-shore at 9 mph, so it won’t be perfect. Still, for a point break, that long period can mean some nice lines if the tide plays ball. Worth a look if you don’t mind some chop.

Later, on Tuesday the 11th of August morning, there’s a 2ft, 18-second period groundswell with light cross-shore wind, and then Wednesday the 12th of August morning goes glassy again with a 2ft, 16-second swell. Both of those are clean but very small. Fine for a quiet, meditative dawn patrol.

The best bet is Wednesday the 29th of July morning – solid 5ft, long period, clean wind, and warm water. The other standout is Thursday the 6th of August for glassy conditions, but keep your expectations in check on the size. Everything else is either blown out or flat.

Rusty, out.

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