San Pancho (San Francisco) Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Gather 'round, crew. Let's talk about the next couple of weeks at San Pancho (San Francisco). We've got a bit of a mixed bag coming our way, but there are some definite windows of opportunity if you play your cards right. The water temperature here is sitting at a warm 88°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year.

We start off Friday the 3rd with a bit of a dud – poor surf conditions, so don't bother. Saturday the 4th though, things look up. The morning session is the one to aim for. We've got clean 3 ft of groundswell wrapping in from the SW with a nice 14-second period, and it's dead glassy with zero wind. The combined swell energy is a moderate 396. It'll be small but tidy.

Sunday the 5th morning is similar – 3 ft SW swell, glassy conditions, and energy ramping up to 499. Another good little window. By Monday the 6th, that energy is climbing fast. The morning is glassy again with 3 ft SW swell and a lovely 16-second period, giving us a combined energy of 730. This is where it starts to get interesting – the forecast is for very good conditions.

Tuesday the 7th and Wednesday the 8th continue that theme. Both mornings are glassy with 3 ft and 4 ft SW swell respectively, and the energy is solidly moderate, peaking at 826 and 692. The sets will be well-spaced with that longer period, but the paddle out will be easy. These mornings are the real highlights of the first week.

Thursday the 9th through Monday the 13th, the swell drops back into the 2 ft to 3 ft range, and the winds get trickier. There are clean mornings on the 9th, 10th, 11th, and 12th with light offshore or cross-off breezes, so you'll still get a wave, but it won't be pumping. Monday the 13th morning is marginal with a light crosswind.

We hit a flat spell from Tuesday the 14th morning through Thursday the 16th. The swell bottoms out between 1 ft and 2 ft, and the conditions are either clean but tiny or blown out. A few days of very ordinary surf.

Now, for the standout. Look ahead to Saturday the 18th, two weeks out. The morning session is the one we've been waiting for. We've got a clean 7 ft of SSW groundswell with a 13-second period, putting the combined energy at a strong 1488. That's serious size for here. With a light, clean cross-off breeze, this is excellent for experienced surfers only. Anything over 5 ft gets big for beginners, and at 7 ft, this is for the crew with some water time. The afternoon drops to 5 ft, but it gets a messy cross-on wind, so don't sleep in. It's far out, so keep an eye on the charts, but that Saturday morning is the one to circle.

There's some surfable, clean options scattered through the first week and a half, but the real gold is that Saturday morning on the 18th. Go get it.

- Rusty

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