The South Jetty Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim for The South Jetty. We’re staring down a long stretch of tiny, junky waves, and it’s going to be a test of patience more than anything. The good news is that there are a few small windows where the conditions will align just enough to make it worth a paddle. Let’s break it down.

The outlook kicks off this Monday afternoon, September 7th, and it’s not pretty. We’ve got a weak 1.3ft of east swell, with a short 9-second period, but a southerly cross-on breeze is going to have it all chopped up. The combined energy is a weak 31, which tells you everything you need to know. It’s a poor surf day, plain and simple. Water temp is a notably warm 77.4°, which is over three degrees above average for this time of year—that's very unusual and a nice bonus if you do get out.

Tuesday and Wednesday don’t offer any real hope. The swell drops off to nothing, with poor conditions and onshore winds killing any chance of a wave. We’re looking at a real dead spell.

We finally see a slight flicker of life on Thursday morning, September 10th. The swell bumps up to a still-small 3.3ft from the SSW, with a weak 6-second period. The wind, however, swings to a cross-offshore breeze, which will clean it right up. The combined energy is still weak at 92, and the model still calls it "poor surf conditions." But clean and small is better than messy and small. Thursday afternoon might be your best bet of this first stretch. The wind drops to a light cross-off, and the swell holds at 2.6ft. It’s going to be weak and soft, but it will be the cleanest we’ve seen. This is not a standout, but it's the only game in town.

After that, we’re back into a long, bleak run. From Friday the 11th through to Tuesday the 15th, it’s a wasteland of tiny, weak, and mostly onshore slop. The period is short, the energy is weak, and the wind is mostly wrong. We see a glimpse of glassy conditions on Monday morning, the 14th, with a tiny 1.6ft southeast swell, but the energy is just too weak to make anything of it.

We finally get another clean window on Wednesday afternoon, September 16th. A 2.6ft east-northeast swell arrives with a moderate offshore wind. Again, it’s not big, but it’s clean. The combined energy is a weak 46, but the offshore breeze is a major positive. Then, Thursday the 17th also shows some promise with a 1.6-2ft east swell and clean, offshore to cross-off winds. These days are your best bet for a few clean, albeit small, waves.

The following week picks up slightly. Saturday, September 19th, shows some more size, with 2.6-3ft of swell, but it’s short period and the winds are all over the place. Sunday is similar, with more onshore wind. The last day of the forecast, Tuesday the 22nd, sees the swell build to 3.3ft, and the combined energy finally jumps into the moderate range at 124. The problem is the wind is cross-onshore and choppy, which will make a mess of it.

So, what’s the call? The standout windows, if you can call them that, are Thursday morning and afternoon (Sept 10th) for the cleanest conditions, and Wednesday afternoon through Thursday (Sept 16-17) for more clean but small surf. The energy is weak, but the clean faces will be your only saving grace. There are long gaps of several days with nothing on offer, especially from Friday the 11th to Tuesday the 15th. For the The South Jetty, this kind of a flat spell isn't unusual. We just have to wait for a better pulse.

This is a time for the longboard and a lot of patience. Nothing here is going to get your heart racing. We're just looking for the cleanest ankle-biters.

Stay stoked.

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