38th St Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's take a look at what's on the table for the next couple of weeks. The long-range picture is pretty quiet at 38th St Beach. This is a sandbar setup that's exposed to the south-east, and we need a decent push from that direction or the south to get anything going. Looking at the pattern, there's no real stand-out swells coming. The water's a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, sitting at about 73°, which is nice.

The next couple of days are quiet. Thursday afternoon the 2nd of July has a bit of energy, but the wind is a messy cross-onshore at 19 mph from the SSW, and the swell is a weak, short-period S swell of only 3 ft. It's going to be lumpy and poor. Friday and Saturday are a write-off with tiny, gutless waves.

There's a small flicker on Tuesday morning, the 7th of July. We see a small south pulse coming in. The swell height picks up just a touch to 2 ft, still with a short period, but the wind goes cross-offshore from the WSW at a light 6 mph. This will clean it up, and the forecast says "clean" conditions. The waves will be surfable but nothing to write home about. If you're desperate for a paddle, that window early Tuesday is the best of a bad bunch.

A larger but wind-affected pulse shows up on Wednesday the 8th. There's a 3 ft ENE swell, however, the period is short, and the wind is a moderate cross-onshore. It'll be bumpy and choppy, poor conditions for a surf.

There's another brief window for decent conditions late in the first week. On Saturday the 11th of July, the swell drops back to 2 ft from the SSE, but we get a clean, cross-offshore wind from the NNW at 12 mph in the morning and lighter WNW winds in the afternoon. The conditions are described as "clean." This is likely the most pleasant paddle of the whole outlook, even though the swell is small.

The second week into mid-July looks extremely quiet and poor. Most days show tiny surf, often under 3 ft, with onshore or cross-shore winds. There are several days where the conditions are consistently poor with no real improvement. It's going to be a long, flat spell. Don't get your hopes up.

Honestly, for this stretch, there are no standout days. If you absolutely have to get wet, the best bet is the clean, cross-offshore conditions on the morning of Saturday the 11th. For the rest of it, you're better off picking up a different hobby for a few weeks. The setup looks far more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing right now, with those cleaner wind days but no real wave power.

Rusty

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