Tijuana Sloughs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Okay, folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what the next couple of weeks are serving up for Tijuana Sloughs.

First thing, don’t get your hopes up. We’re looking at a long, flat stretch. This ain’t a time to be planning a session around. The first two weeks of the outlook are mostly quiet and the wave quality is just not there. There’s no real punch or consistency to get excited about, and a lot of it is written off as poor surf.

We do have a little pulse on Wednesday, July 29. That afternoon, we’re looking at a 4ft swell coming out of the SSW. The period is a long 16 seconds, so there’s some proper groundswell energy moving – the combined energy is sitting at a moderate 791. The wind is offshore from the W at 9 mph, which is a definite plus. It should be fairly clean. But the forecast flags it as marginal, so it won’t be a classic. The water temp is way above normal for the time of year at 73°, with a massive anomaly of 5°, so it’s very unusually warm.

The best window in this whole long run is actually Thursday, July 30, first thing in the morning. Same swell size, 4ft from the SSW, but the period is a touch lower at 15 seconds. The wind is light offshore from the WNW at 6 mph, which is pretty much glassy conditions. The combined energy bumps up to 968. This is the best it’s going to get on offer. It’s still described as marginal, but if you’re chasing a wave, this is your one window. After that, the sizes drop away and never really come back.

From Friday, July 31 onward, the swell shrinks down to 3ft or less, and the reports are consistently “poor surf conditions.” We get a couple of days with light cross-onshore winds that will add a bit of bump to the surface. The period swings around to shorter stuff from the WNW with periods around 8-9 seconds, and then later back to long-period SSW/SW swells, but the height just isn’t there. The wave energy numbers drop into the 200-400 range, which is weak.

The second week is just more of the same. Small waves, light winds, but no quality. There’s a tiny uptick on Tuesday, August 11 afternoon with a 3ft SSW swell and a very long 18-second period; the combined energy climbs to a moderate 617. But with such a long period and such small size, the shape on a river break like this can be tricky, and it’s still flagged as marginal.

Honestly, the only time to even consider wetting a line is Thursday morning, July 30. The rest of it? Save your energy. The forecast can change, and it doesn’t look like this area stays quiet forever, but right now, it’s a bit of a bust.

Stay patient,
Rusty.

Read more