Spring Lake Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough outlook for Spring Lake over the next 16 days. The swell window's just not lining up, and we’ve got a long stretch of small, weak, and messy conditions. Let me walk you through it.

There is no good surf to start the period. We’re looking at a dry spell that runs all the way from Thursday, 27 August through to the first week of September. The models show tiny, short-period swells – mostly under 3 ft – from the ESE and SE, with cross-onshore winds spoiling any chance of shape. Combined wave energy is barely ticking over, sitting at just 68 on Thursday morning, and it gets worse from there. You’ll see a lot of “poor surf conditions” flags, and honestly, it’s hard to argue with that.

There’s one brief flicker of hope on Friday morning, 28 August. The wind goes glassy – a dead calm, 0 mph – and we get a little 3 ft SE swell. The energy is still low at 96, and the period is a short 8 seconds, but if you’re desperate, you might find a crumbly waist-high wave. Thunderstorms are about, so keep an eye on the sky. That’s about as close as we get to a highlight in the first week.

After that, it’s back to the grind. Light winds or moderate breezes, but always the wrong direction. The swell stays small and weak through the end of August and into the first days of September, with combined energy dropping into the teens and twenties. You’ll see some clean conditions on Monday 31 August with a light W/SW cross-off breeze, but the swell is pathetic – barely 1 ft. Not worth paddling out for.

We get a slight pulse on Wednesday 2 September: the period jumps to 11 seconds, and swell height edges up to 2 ft from the SE. Combined energy hits 93, which is still weak but better than earlier. But the wind is onshore from the ESE, pushing that small groundswell flat. It’s frustrating.

Come Thursday 3 September, the wind finally turns offshore from the WNW at 9 mph. The swell is still only 2 ft, period 9 seconds, energy 48. It’s clean, but tiny. If you’re on a longboard and just want to feel the glide, the afternoon session might be your best bet in the entire forecast.

The only real standout – and I say that with caution – arrives on Sunday 6 September. We see a jump in combined swell energy to 158, which is moderate and the highest we’ll get. The swell height hits 4 ft from the E, but it’s a short, junky 7-second period. The wind is a fresh cross-onshore from the ENE at 16 mph, making it choppy. For an experienced surfer, there could be some punchy, disorganised waves, but beginners will struggle with the size and wind. Honestly, given the wind and short period, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

After that, it’s back to small, weak, and often onshore or cross-on conditions through to 11 September. The last few days show offshore wind again from the NW and W/NW, but the swell is barely 1.0 ft with combined energy in the teens. Clean but flat.

So, overall – Spring Lake is in a quiet spell. There’s no proper swell, and the one day with a little more energy (6 September) is wind-chopped. If you’re really jonesing, try the glassy morning on 28 August or the clean offshore session on 3 September afternoon. But don’t expect much. It’s a waiting game.

Rusty.

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