Stockton Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your wettie, because the next couple of weeks are going to be a whole lot of nothing for us. Honestly, it’s looking like a pretty flat and bumpy stretch. The forecast is showing a long run of poor surf with no real standouts on the cards for the next 16 days. The swell is weak and the wind is mostly onshore or cross-onshore, so you’d be fighting it just to get a grovelly closeout.

We’re looking at a solid gap with no decent surf until at least the 20th of August, and even then, it’s not looking like something you’d set your alarm for. The energy is all over the place, with combined energy values staying well under 100, mostly in the 20s and 30s – just weak, tired leftovers. The swell direction is from the S to SSE, but the period is short and junky, mostly 4 to 8 seconds, so there’s no push or shape to it.

Stockton is our only spot here, a consistent beach/jetty that’s exposed to the S/SE, but it’s just not working. For the first few days, you’ve got a moderate breeze from the S and SSW creating choppy, cross-onshore conditions. The water temp is around 75° with a normal anomaly for this time of year, so that’s not a problem. The problem is the surf. It’s all sub-3ft, mostly around 1-2ft, and with a period of 4-6 seconds, it’s just a jumbled mess.

Around the 12th and 13th, we get a little bit of hope as the wind turns light cross-off from the WNW, and on the 13th morning it’s glassy. But the waves are still tiny – 2ft or less – so it’s not worth getting wet for. It’s clean, but it’s flat.

The following few days see the wind pick up again from the south and northwest, but it doesn’t help. The swell stays small and weak. Honestly, for a beginner, it’s too small to learn, and for anyone else, it’s just frustrating. The periods are short, so even when it bumps up to 2-3ft around the 19th and 20th, the period drops to 4-5 seconds, which is just slop. On the 20th, we get a slight uptick in energy to 100 in the morning, but the height is only 3ft from the SSW with a short, weak period.

This is looking more like a kite-surfing week than a surf week, especially with the stronger S winds picking up. The setup at Stockton is a beach/jetty, and when it’s this small and messy, there’s just no push for a paddle surfer.

Bottom line: don’t get your hopes up. There’s a long flat spell ahead. Forecasts change, but right now, you’re better off checking the wind for kitesurfing or doing something else. This kind of blank run is pretty normal for this area, so it’s not a huge shock. I’ll be keeping an eye on it, but you might want to find another hobby for a week or two.

Stay salty,
Rusty

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