36th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming our way over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, mate, it’s a bit of a flat spell for 36th Street. We’ve got a long stretch ahead with hardly anything worth paddling out for. The first real chance of any wave action doesn’t show up until Thursday the 3rd of September, and even then it’s barely a whisper.

From the get-go, it’s a pretty grim picture. Monday the 31st of August is a write-off: tiny 1.0 ft of sloppy SE swell with a short, weak 8 second period and combined energy barely getting out of single digits (11 to 16). The wind is a cross-onshore mess, so it’s choppy and ugly. Tuesday the 1st of September starts to clean up with a light offshore breeze, but the swell is still puny at 1.0 ft and 7 seconds – not enough to push a paper boat. Wednesday the 2nd sees a tiny bump to 2 ft with a more respectable 11 second period, but the energy is still weak (93 to 111) and it’s cross-shore choppy.

Thursday the 3rd of September morning is the best of a bad lot early on. The swell nudges up to 3 ft from the ESE with a 9 second period, and the energy is moderate (113). The wind is a light cross-offshore, leaving the surface clean. It’s surfable, but very ordinary. This is the only session in the first week where you could justify getting wet, but don’t expect much. The rest of that week and into the next is a total zero – tiny waves, poor conditions, and the score is non-existent. There’s a gap of several days with no recommendations at all.

Now, looking further out, things get a bit more interesting, but it’s a long way off and less certain. By Monday the 14th of September, we see a pulse of short-period NE swell, hitting 3 ft in the morning but with a terrible 5 second period. By the afternoon of the 15th of September (Tuesday), the swell size jumps to 4 ft from the east, with an 8 second period. The combined energy is solid at 216, but it’s still a short-period windswell.

However, the dawn session on Tuesday the 15th of September stands out. The wind is light and cross-onshore, but the key here is the relatively clean conditions and that 4 ft of east swell. It’s not groundswell, so the shape might be a bit dumpy, but it’s the most size we’ve seen. Just keep in mind that at 4 ft, it’s starting to get a bit much for true beginners. If you’re an intermediate or better, this is the only standout window in the whole 16-day run. The afternoon gets a bit messy with a risk of storms.

So, bottom line: there’s almost nothing on offer for the first two weeks. The only flicker of hope is the morning of Tuesday the 15th of September at 36th Street, with a clean-ish 4 ft east swell. It’s a long way off, so fingers crossed it holds together, but right now, that’s all we’ve got.

Rusty.

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