Tijuana Sloughs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a proper look at what’s on the cards over the next couple of weeks at Tijuana Sloughs (Tijuana-Sloughs).

Honestly, it’s a bit of a slow start. The first week is looking pretty grim with hardly anything worth paddling out for. We’ve got small, weak swell and cross-onshore winds messing up what little is there. For the first few days from Monday the 17th through to about Saturday the 22nd, the surf is tiny – mostly around 2 ft to 3 ft – and the conditions are just poor. The combined swell energy is moderate at best (around 427 on Monday afternoon) but the wind is cross-on, making it choppy and uninviting. You’d be fighting an uphill battle.

There’s a bit of a glimmer on Wednesday the 19th afternoon with offshore wind (6 mph) and a 3 ft SSW swell, but it’s only rated as marginal. Not the sort of thing you rush out for. From there, we drift through a long stretch of marginal to poor days until we get near the end of the month.

Now, here’s where things get interesting. The real standout window is kicking off around Saturday the 29th of August. That morning we see a jump to a 4 ft SSW swell with a very long period of 18 seconds (groundswell), and the wind is light and offshore. The combined energy rockets up to 1007 – that’s strong wave energy. This is a proper river mouth setup, so that long period swell should wrap in nicely and hold its shape. The water is a touch warmer than normal at 71°F, which is nice.

Sunday the 30th keeps it going with 5 ft SSW swell, still with light offshore wind, and energy at 1093. This is the pick of the bunch for the whole outlook – clean, punchy, and with enough size to get the heart pumping. Just be aware, with swell over 5 ft, this is getting too big for beginners, and if it bumps up closer to 8 ft, only the experienced crew should be out. The crowd factor says "sometimes" here, so you might have to share, but it’s worth it.

The long period swell (over 15 seconds) will mean longer waits between sets but more powerful waves. At a river mouth, that’s a major plus – it’ll push through cleanly. For the week after, into the start of September, the size drops back down to 3 ft and the winds turn cross-on again, so that window is your best bet.

So, to wrap it up: the first week is a write-off, but don’t lose hope. The real action is Saturday 29th and Sunday 30th August – that’s your go-time. Promising, but we’ll see how it firms up as we get closer.

Stay stoked.
Rusty.

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