Tijuana Sloughs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, let’s take a look at what’s happening at Tijuana Sloughs over the next couple of weeks. It’s a bit of a mixed bag, to be honest. This spot is a river mouth, so it’s got that unique setup, but we’re not seeing a whole lot of clean, rideable surf for a good stretch. The first week looks pretty bleak, with mostly poor conditions and wonky winds. The second week shows a bit more promise, especially towards the back half, with some longer-period groundswell showing up, but it’s still just marginal.

Kicking off on Sunday the 13th, we start with a tiny 2 ft swell from the southwest, with a period of 13 seconds. The water is notably warm, running at 73°F which is a good 5° warmer than normal for this time of year. But the wind is light and onshore, and the wave comment says it all: poor surf conditions. The energy is weak too, at just 226. Monday the 14th sees a jump in size to 5 ft from the WNW, but the period drops to a short 8 seconds. The wind shifts to a cross-onshore 15 km/h from the southwest, making it choppy. The energy is up to 533, but it’s a messy, marginal setup. That continues through Tuesday the 15th, with the swell dropping back to 2 ft and a long 16-second period—long-period swell like that can be tricky at a river mouth, and with weak cross-onshore winds, it’s not doing us any favours.

Wednesday the 16th through to Saturday the 21st is a real grind. You’re looking at swells hanging between 2 ft and 4 ft, with periods varying from 15 to 19 seconds. The wind is mostly cross-onshore or onshore, keeping things choppy and the energy readings are moderate but unimpressive, ranging from 321 up to 849. The wave comments are a mix of “poor” and “marginal”—nothing you’d want to get out of bed early for.

Things start to look slightly more interesting around the start of the second week. Monday the 21st afternoon sees a 4 ft swell at 17 seconds from the SW, with an onshore wind of 15 km/h. The energy hits 849, which is building. Then on Tuesday the 22nd and Wednesday the 23rd, we stay in the 3 ft range with 15 to 16 second periods, and the wind is onshore but light. Still marginal, but the energy is there, sitting around 417 to 546.

The standout opportunity might be very late in the window, on the weekend of the 27th and 28th. Sunday the 27th afternoon shows a 2 ft swell, but the period jumps up to 21 seconds—that’s a very long-period groundswell. The wind is light and onshore, and while the energy is moderate at 543, it’s listed as a 2 out of 10, which is the highest score in the whole window. Then Monday the 28th continues the theme with a 2 ft swell at 19 to 20 seconds, and the energy jumps to 678 and then 901. The wind stays light and onshore, but with such a long period, the sets will be clean and lined up if you can get the tide right. That Monday afternoon (28th of September) with the energy at 901 is the best chance you’ve got for a proper session, even if the size is small.

In summary, don’t expect much for the first week. The second week has a glimmer of hope, particularly around the 28th and 29th, with that super-long period groundswell and light winds. For beginners, the swell never gets over 5 ft, so you’re safe there, but the lack of clean conditions is the real killer. It’s more of a patient wait for something to line up.

Rusty.

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