Spring Lake Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here with a look at what Spring Lake has got cookin’ for us. Gotta be straight with you, it’s not lookin’ pretty for the next couple weeks.

Right off the bat, we’re in a bit of a dry spell. Monday the 24th of August kicks things off, but there’s nothin’ worth paddlin’ out for. The swell combo is weak, only registering 39 for the combined energy. We’re talkin’ knee-high dribble at best with a 1ft SE windswell. That little 12-second period sounds nice, but there’s just no power behind it. A light WSW breeze will keep the surface tidy, but you’d be bobbin’ around more than surfin’. This same story repeats itself right through the week – tiny swell, poor conditions. Wednesday the 26th afternoon gets a bump up to 2ft with a bit more energy (54), but a stiff SSE wind turns it into a choppy mess.

Thursday the 27th is the first time we see any real push. A 4ft S swell rolls in, and the combined energy jumps to a solid 161 (moderate wave energy). But it’s comin’ in with a short, weak 6-second period, and a strong cross-shore S wind at 16 mph will have the surface all mangled. This is the kind of messy, power-washed setup that’d be more fun on a kite than a surfboard.

Friday the 28th morning might be the best you’ll see in this stretch. A glimmer of hope – the wind goes glassy, dead calm. The swell drops back to a gentle 3ft from the SE, and the energy is moderate at 104. The waves will be super clean and smooth. The problem is, it’s still a short-period, weak little wave. “Surfable but very ordinary” is the call.

After that, it’s a long, flat slog. From Saturday the 29th all the way through to the end of the first week of September, it’s tiny onshore slop or just plain flat. There’s a solid 6-day gap with zero recommendations.

Then, on Monday the 31st of August, we get a tiny whisper of a groundswell. The period jumps to 19 seconds, which is very long. The swell is only 1ft, so it’s a tease. The combined energy is 75 (weak). A light offshore NW breeze in the afternoon might make it look pretty, but you’d be lucky to find a ripple big enough to stand on.

The most energy we get in the whole 16-day window hits on Tuesday the 1st of September and Wednesday the 2nd. The combined energy numbers are strong – 210 and then 275 – with swell holding around 2ft to 3ft. The period is a solid 13-15 seconds, so there’s some real groundswell character. But here’s the kicker – the wind is cross-shore and cross-on from the ENE and NE. It’s gonna be bumpy and unappealing. The “marginal” tag says it all – you’d be fighting a messy surface for not a lot of reward.

Thursday the 3rd of September is a write-off. 5ft of swell, 844 combined energy (very strong), but a howlin’ 25 mph NNE wind makes it unsurfable.

The last weekend of the window, September 4th and 5th, cleans up a bit with some offshore WNW flow, but the swell fades back to that ankle-knocker 3ft range with weak energy. It’s a rinse-and-repeat of the previous week.

Honestly, for me, the one and only standout is Friday morning, August 28th. It’s not big, but that glassy, calm wind at Spring Lake’s sandbar will make for the smoothest, most user-friendly surf of the whole outlook. For a long spell like this, sometimes you just gotta take the clean little ones. After that, keep an eye on the 1st of September for a bump in size, but don’t get your hopes up for clean conditions.

Rusty.

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