36th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get straight into it. Honestly, I’ve been staring at this forecast and it’s a tough one. The next 16 days are looking pretty grim for decent surf around here. The little bumps we get are just that – tiny bumps. We’re talking about a long stretch where you’ll be wondering if you left your board in the car for nothing.

Let’s start with the only spot in the game: 36th Street, a beach-and-jetty setup. The water is running at a very warm 78°F, which is a massive 6°F warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s a proper anomaly, feels like bathwater.

The week kicks off on Thursday, 3rd September, but it’s a total write-off. We’ve got a tiny 1ft swell from the SE with a period of 9 seconds, and the combined energy is a weak 45. The wind is a messy cross-off in the morning, but by the afternoon it’s a choppy cross-shore. The waves are just poor. Friday the 4th is cleaner with a light offshore, but the swell is still a pathetic 1ft and the energy drops to 19. You’d be fighting for a knee-high dribble.

Saturday the 5th is even worse, with barely 0.7ft to 1.0ft of swell. The combined energy is in the single digits (10-14). It’s clean, but there’s nothing to ride.

Sunday the 6th sees a pulse of 4ft swell from the ENE, but with a short period of 5 seconds, the energy is a lousy 64. The wind is a messy cross-shore, making it a choppy, lumpy mess. Not worth the paddle.

Monday the 7th is the closest we get to a “surfable” wave, but even then it’s a stretch. A 2ft swell from the east with a period of 11 seconds and a cross-off wind. The energy is 82, which is still weak. The notes say “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” That’s the best of the whole run, and it’s not saying much.

After that, it’s just a long, boring stretch of tiny, weak swells and poor conditions. The second week shows slightly longer periods coming in, like 13 seconds on the 17th and 18th, but the swell size is still only 0.7ft to 1.0ft. The energy is weak (42-47). It’s clean, but there’s just no power.

Bottom line: this is a washout. There’s nothing here that screams “go surfing.” The setup is more interesting for a kite if you’re desperate for a fix, but for paddle surfing, it’s a dry spell. Don’t hold your breath; forecasts can change, but right now, this is a blank run.

Rusty.

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