Spring Lake Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s break it down.

Right now, the outlook for Spring Lake is pretty bleak, I’ve gotta be straight with you. Through the entire 16-day window, there’s no period where the surf really fires. We’ve got a long stretch of tiny, weak swell and crummy conditions. From the 10th of August right through to the 25th, it’s mostly flat or just messy scraps. The first real sniff of anything remotely rideable doesn’t appear until the 20th of August, but even then, it’s ordinary at best.

The overall pattern is dominated by minimal wave energy. Most days we are looking at combined swell energy values below 40, which is just weak, anemic stuff. You’ll see a brief spike in energy around the 18th and 19th of August, with combined energy hitting 170 and 183, but the swell direction is from the SE, which isn’t the optimum direction for Spring Lake, and the quality is poor. The water temperature is about average for the time of year, nothing unusual there.

Let’s run through it day by day. For the first week, from Monday the 10th through to Sunday the 16th of August, it’s a write-off. Swell heights barely break 0.7 ft, with periods under 8 seconds—just windslop. You’ll get the odd glassy morning, like Wednesday the 12th of August, but there’s no wave to surf. Even when the wind goes offshore, like on Tuesday the 11th, the swell is just 0.3 ft.

The weekend of the 16th and 17th sees a slight bump, with a 3 ft swell on Sunday the 16th, but it’s coming from the S with a short 4-second period and a fresh cross-shore wind, making it choppy and lumpy. Not worth paddling out.

Moving into the second week, we get a little more energy. On the 18th and 19th of August, the swell height is only 1 ft to 2 ft, but it’s a long-period groundswell (15 seconds) from the SE. The combined energy is moderate, sitting in the 100 to 183 range. The catch is the wind—on the 18th, we get a moderate breeze cross-offshore, keeping it clean, but the swell is small. On the 19th, a fresh cross-shore wind ruins it.

The closest we come to a recommendation is Thursday the 20th of August. Morning and afternoon both have 2 ft swell from the SE with an 11 to 10-second period, combined energy around 114 in the morning and 64 in the afternoon. The wind is a light breeze cross-offshore from the NNW, making it clean. The score is a 1 out of 10, which is still “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” It’s really the only time in the whole window where you might get a few small, clean waves if you’re desperate.

After that, it’s back to poor conditions through the 25th, with small swell and onshore or cross-shore winds. The swell picks up slightly on the 23rd of August with a 3 ft swell from the E and moderate cross-offshore wind, but it’s still too small and weak to get excited about.

Honestly, the standout, if you can call it that, is Thursday the 20th of August, for the morning session. It’s the cleanest window with the most energy, but it’s a long way off, and even then, the waves are tiny. The break is an exposed sandbar, so any long-period groundswell from the SE tends to break a bit straight, but with no real size, it won’t matter much.

Crowds are sometimes a factor here, but with surf this poor, you likely won’t see many people out.

So, overall, it’s a lean run. If you’re desperate for a paddle, keep an eye on the 20th of August, but don’t hold your breath. Forecasts can change, but right now, this is a tough stretch.

Rusty

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