Three Peaks Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here with a look at the next couple of weeks for Three Peaks. Gotta be straight with you – it's a pretty grim run we're looking at. The data's telling a story of constant wind issues and very little in the way of quality surf.

Right off the bat, we're starting on Saturday the 12th of September with nothing to ride. The swell's there, around 5ft from the WSW, but it's getting hammered by a strong onshore SW breeze at 19 mph. The water feels about average for this time of year, but that won't matter much when the surface is a mess. The wave energy is weak at best (230), and with a short, weak period of 6 seconds, the shape will be all over the place. It stays like this through the weekend and into the next week. Sunday the 13th has some cleaner skies, but the wind is still cross-onshore, so you're fighting a chop.

The whole first week is a write-off. What little swell we get is constantly plagued by onshore, cross-onshore, or lumpy cross-shore winds. The wave energy stays moderate at best, bouncing around the low-to-mid hundreds, but it's never clean. There's a brief moment of hope on Sunday the 20th, where the afternoon turns cross-offshore and clean with a NNW breeze, but the swell has dropped to a tiny 3ft from the WSW. If you're desperate for a tiny, clean glide, that’s the best you'll get, but it's barely worth the paddle.

After that, the ocean basically shuts down. From Monday the 21st, the swell disappears into knee-to-waist high nothingness. There's a notable moment on Wednesday the 23rd where it goes dead flat (0.3ft) and glassy with a SSE breeze of 3 mph – that's it for any kind of texture on the water.

The pattern doesn't improve. We get a slight bump on Thursday the 24th with clean cross-offshore winds from the ESE blowing at 19 mph, but the swell is only 2ft. The energy is pitiful (30), so it’s just wind-slapped ripples.

The worst part might be the final Sunday the 27th. A late-season pulse of 7ft from the W shows up, but it’s accompanied by a strong 19 mph onshore wind and rain showers. That'll be a total washing machine – big, messy, and blown out. For the more experienced crew, the short period (6 seconds) on a beach setup like this will mean a lot of close-outs and whitewater, not a clean ride. Honestly, with that wind and size, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

I know it’s a tough report. When the consistency is this poor and the forecasts can change, we just have to ride it out. Until then, keep the board in the car and the wax in the shade.

Rusty

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