36th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here again, switching to feet and miles for you. Let's talk 36th Street on the Jersey Shore.

Plain and simple, the next couple of weeks look bleak. We've got a stretch of nearly two weeks where there's just nothing doing. The water is warm, though – about 74°F, which is a solid 4°F above normal, so it feels like bathwater for this time of year. But that's the only good news. The combined swell energy is barely a whisper, with most days reading single digits like 12 or 13 (weak energy), so there's just no push.

Let's run through it. Friday, July 3rd morning is glassy with a tiny 0.7ft swell from the ESE at 9 seconds, but with only 13 in the energy tank, it's a total non-event. The afternoon picks up a bit of cross-offshore breeze but only manages 1ft. Saturday and Sunday are much the same – tiny, weak, and poor. We see a few days of glassy conditions on Sunday the 5th and Tuesday the 7th, but with swell under 2ft and energy below 33, you're just bobbing around. A couple of afternoons mid-week get a bit of a cross-off or offshore breeze, making things look clean, but the swell is still missing.

Monday, July 13th morning is the first time we get a glimmer of hope. A 3ft easterly swell with a short period of 5 seconds and energy hitting 73 (still weak) actually makes it "surfable." The wind is offshore from the NW, so it should be clean. It’s a window for a longboard or a foiler, but it's not going to be rippable. The afternoon gets messy, and Tuesday the 14th goes back downhill.

Friday, July 17th afternoon is the only standout, and I'm calling it promising but uncertain since it's two weeks out. We get a jump in swell to 5ft from the south with a 6-second period. The big change is the combined energy hitting 155, which is moderate energy – that's some actual push. The problem is the wind is a fresh cross-onshore from the south at 19 mph, making for lumpy, tough conditions. It's steep and raw, and at 5ft, it's getting too much for beginners, but for experienced surfers, there might be some grunty, challenging waves in the mix. That south swell direction is right off the optimum for this spot, which usually needs NE swell, so the shape won't be perfect.

The rest of the run into Saturday, July 18th fades back to nothing, with only 0.3ft of long-period groundswell at 14 seconds and 4 energy. That's a ghost.

Bottom line: don't expect classic surf here over the next 16 days. The best bet is that Monday the 13th morning for a clean but weak ankle-slapper, or the more powerful but wind-affected Friday the 17th afternoon for the crew that just wants to get wet and wrestle something. Otherwise, the beach might be better for a picnic than a paddle out.

Rusty.

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