Tijuana Sloughs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s cooking for the area around Tijuana Sloughs.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with you – the next week and a half is pretty flat. There’s a big gap of nothing worth paddling out for from now until we get into the last few days of August. The swell energy is weak, mostly under 700 (moderate wave energy at best), and the wind is all wrong, sitting cross-onshore most days. That river mouth setup needs a clean window, and we're just not getting it. For the first eight days, the conditions are either "poor" or "marginal" with a gentle cross-onshore breeze keeping things choppy. It’s one of those blank runs that feels longer than it looks on paper.

Now, the standout window finally shows up on Thursday, 27 August, through Friday, 28 August. That’s the one to circle. The swell builds nicely, with a solid 7ft to 8ft groundswell coming from the SSW, and the period holds at 14 seconds, giving it some proper push. The combined energy jumps to 1701 (strong wave energy) on Thursday morning and peaks at 2278 (very strong wave energy) by Friday morning. The wind is light and offshore (onshore in the finder terminology) so the waves should be glassy and clean. This is proper groundswell, so the setup here – a river break – will really benefit from that long-period energy, shaping up with longer gaps between sets. With swell over 8ft on Friday morning, this is only for the experienced crew. Crowds are "sometimes", so you might have a chance at a few good ones if you get out early.

On the water temp front, close to average for the time of year, nothing wild to report there.

-Before that, from around 22 August, there’s a tiny pulse of windswell, but it’s short-period (10 seconds) and small, so not worth getting excited about.

So in short: wait through the dry spell, and then Thursday 27 August and Friday 28 August are your best bets. Expect a powerful, clean SSW groundswell at Tijuana Sloughs, but it’s big – only for those who know what they’re doing. The rest of the run? Kite surfers might find something on those choppy, side-off days, but for paddle surfing, it’s a no-go.

Rusty.

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