Tijuana Sloughs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. We’re looking at Tijuana Sloughs for the next couple of weeks, and I gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough forecast.

The 16-day window starts off flat. There’s no real surf to speak of for the first few days. A bit of swell tries to show up Tuesday the 28th, but it’s messy. The main event is a solid 5ft groundswell from the SSW with a very long period of 17 seconds and a massive combined wave energy of 1279, which is very strong. But it comes with an onshore wind and the notes say it’s a questionable tide. Honestly, it looks more interesting for kite surfing than a proper paddle session. You’ll get some big, clean lines on the sets, but you have to work for them in tricky conditions.

We go into a long stretch of poor conditions from Wednesday the 29th all the way through the first week of August. The swell drops off drastically, with heights between 2ft and 4ft and some periods dropping to 11 or 12 seconds, which is poor. The combined swell energy plummets to between 166 and 873, which is considered weak to moderate. Winds are mostly light but are cross-on or onshore, keeping things choppy. This isn’t a place that stays bad forever, but this is a real dry spell. The forecast days are written off as “poor surf conditions” or “marginal.” The water temperature is 72°F on the 28th, and with a 4°F anomaly, it’s much warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least you can stay warm waiting.

From the 7th of August into the second week, the swell tries to come back but it’s still struggling. We see a few pulses of longer-period swell from the SSW, with periods up to 19 seconds on the 7th. The energy climbs back into the 300 to 500 range (moderate), but heights are still only between 2ft and 3ft. On the 7th morning, you get a light cross-shore breeze from the SSW, which could clean it up a little, but the size is just too small for a proper wave. The 10th and 11th have the same issue – a bit of energy, but no height. For the second week, we’re talking about a very marginal outlook right through to the 12th of August, with heights staying around 3ft and combined energies of 498 to 556. The best you can hope for is a tiny, clean long-period wave if you’ve got a log.

If you’re desperate, the morning of the 7th of August is the only real highlight. The wind is offshore from the SSW at 9 mph, which is a gentle breeze, but the swell is only 2ft from the SW with a long 19-second period. It’s a rivermouth setup, so that long-period swell might wrap in and give you a few fun little ones if you’re on the right gear and the tide is right. But it’s a very small window for a very small wave.

Truth is, for the next two weeks, Tijuana Sloughs is mostly a write-off.

Rusty.

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