Spring Lake Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for Spring Lake over the next couple of weeks. I gotta be straight with you – it's not looking great, not great at all. The pattern we've got coming out of the data is pretty much one long stretch of tiny, weak, and often messy conditions. This isn't a spot where flat spells are unusual, but even so, this is a long run of poor surf.

We’re starting from Tuesday the 18th of August, and it's a dud. For the next week and a bit, through to around Monday the 24th, you're looking at swell heights below 3 feet almost every day. The combined energy (51) on that first Tuesday tells you how limp it is. Strong onshore winds from the east and southeast are making a mess of things, turning the lake surface into a choppy, lumpy mess. Wednesday the 20th morning starts glassy, but with only 2 feet of swell, it's not breaking with any push. The water temperature is running a very unusual 77°, which is much warmer than normal for this time of year.

There's a tiny window on Monday the 24th – the morning session is glassy with a tiny bit of bump, ocean energy (69) is still very weak, but it's surfable. The afternoon kicks up a 1 foot pulse from the southeast with a long 12-second period, and importantly, the wind goes offshore from the west-northwest. That would be the most rideable piece of the whole outlook, but we're scraping the barrel. Nothing else in that first week is worth paddling out for.

Moving into the second week, it's more of the same. The last few days of August and into September stay stubbornly small. On the 1st of September, a little jump in swell shows up – 4 feet on the Tuesday afternoon, and combined energy (150) gets to moderate for the first time, but the wind is cross-onshore and it's still a short 7-second period. The 2nd of September keeps that moderate energy (160) and 4 feet of swell, but again, it's cross-onshore and messy.

There is no standout session in this entire forecast. If I had to pick the best bit, it’s that Monday afternoon on the 24th of August. It’s the only time we see offshore wind and a clean face, even if the swell is tiny (1 foot) and the period is long (12 seconds), which means long lulls between weak sets at this sandbar. The spot is Spring Lake (sandbar), and it’s consistently breaking, so if you're desperate, that’s your chance. But overall, this is a long stretch of flat or poor conditions. For paddle surfing, it’s a write-off; with the consistent east winds, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than anything else.

Rusty, signing off.

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