Surfside Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s happening at your local stretch. I’ve got to be straight with you – it’s looking pretty bleak for a good paddle. We’re stuck in a run of tiny, poor-quality swell that just won’t give us a proper wave for most of the next two and a half weeks.

The main spot on the radar is Surfside Jetty. It’s an advanced, inconsistent break that’s fairly exposed to the west, but the problem is, we’re just not seeing any real energy arrive. The combined swell energy for the first few days is only moderate, sitting between 198 and 506 (a value of 198-506). The water temp is sitting at 69.8°F, which feels a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – one of the few bright spots, I guess.

We start off Wednesday, August 12th, with a tiny 1.6ft to 2.0ft SSW swell, but it’s coming from the south with a period of 16 to 17 seconds. That’s a long period groundswell, which at a place like this should mean some energy, but the wind is blowing onshore from the SW and WSW at 9 mph. The report says poor surf conditions, and I trust that. That onshore breeze will chop up anything that tries to stand up.

Thursday and Friday, August 13th and 14th, are more of the same: tiny 1.6ft to 2.3ft SSW swell with moderate energy, but the wind stays onshore or cross-onshore. The surf is consistently described as poor. This is frustrating because the light morning breezes of 6 mph are glassy, but the swell just isn’t there to make it count.

We roll into the weekend, August 15th and 16th, and the swell pushes up to a pathetic 2.6ft to 3.0ft. The combined energy does climb to 454, but it’s still a poor-quality, short-period wave with cross-onshore winds. For a beach break setup, this is ugly. Honestly, with the wind and the weak swell, this looks more interesting for a kite surfer than someone on a paddle board.

The whole second week, from August 17th all the way to August 27th, is a total write-off. We’re looking at swell heights of 1.3ft to 3.0ft, with the combined energy mostly staying under 400. The wind is either onshore or cross-onshore, and most entries say “poor surf conditions.” There are a couple of mornings, like August 18th and 26th, where the forecast is described as “marginal surf forecast or questionable tide conditions,” but that’s not a call to grab your board. That’s a warning.

The swell direction hangs mostly around SSW and SW, but it never delivers. The optimum direction for Surfside Jetty is from the west, and we do get some SW, but it’s not enough. The period is often long (14-19 seconds), which should be a good sign, but the height is just too tiny for anything to break properly with any punch.

So, what’s the best on offer? If I had to pick a window, the mornings of August 14th and 15th show a glassy 6 mph wind with a 1.6ft to 2.6ft swell. It’s still poor, but if you’re desperate for a float and a trim, it might be the least ugly. But don't get your hopes up. This is a long, dry stretch for us. A 16-day gap with almost no real recommendations means it tends not to stay this poor forever, but for now, it’s a solid pass.

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