Spring Lake Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on offer for Spring Lake over the next couple of weeks. I gotta be straight with you, this stretch of coast is really copping a flat spell for a long while. The water temp is sitting at 79°, which is more than 5° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s very unusual, so you’ll be in for a warm one if you’re just having a paddle, but not for surfing on the sandbar.

Right from the jump on Thursday the 13th, it’s tiny – just 0.7 ft of weak ESE swell with a period of 8 seconds. The wind is clean early, but it doesn’t matter because there’s barely a ripple. That sets the tone for the rest of August. Morning of Friday the 14th is still 0.7 ft, clean but useless. Saturday the 15th sees a slight bump to 2 ft from the ENE but with a shocking 4-second period and cross-onshore wind – that’s not going to produce anything worth paddling for.

We get a bit of a spike on Sunday the 16th afternoon when a S swell pushes up to 6 ft, but it’s a short period 6-second thing with a fresh cross-shore wind. The combined energy hits 178 (moderate), but the wind chops it up. Monday the 17th? Totally flat. Zero energy. Same again for days.

Nothing really changes for the next week. There’s a small increase on Thursday the 20th morning to 3 ft from the SSE with a poor 6-second period – combined energy of 67 (weak). The wind is light but cross-shore, so it’s just messy. Every single day is marked as poor surf conditions. Friday the 21st, Saturday the 22nd, Sunday the 23rd – all tiny, weak, and mostly cross-shore or onshore winds. On the 22nd afternoon we get a rare burst of period – 13 seconds from the ESE – but the swell is only 0.7 ft, so it’s a clean waist-high dribble at best.

The only thing that really stands out is Thursday the 27th morning. The swell jumps to 7 ft from the east, with a 7-second period and combined energy of 364 (strong). That’s a proper amount of water moving. However, the wind is cross-shore and the swell direction is from the east, while this sandbar works best with an ENE direction. Plus it’s a beach break, and a 7-second windswell like this with a cross wind is going to be lumpy and hard to line up. By the afternoon it’s 7 ft but onshore and messy. Friday the 28th still has 5 ft from the east but again onshore wind. This whole pulse is really only for experts who are desperate, as anything over 5 ft at Spring Lake is too much for beginners, and the conditions are far from clean.

To be honest, the first two weeks are a dead loss – barely any swell, and what little comes through is weak, short-period, and wind-affected. The standout moment in the whole 16-day window is that Thursday the 27th of August morning, because it’s the only time we see strong energy (364). Just keep in mind it’s cross-shore, not the ideal direction, and the break is exposed so it’ll be a bit of a battle. For the rest of it, you’re better off leaving the board in the car and checking the forecast again.

Rusty.

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