Tijuana Sloughs Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right, grab your coffee, let’s have a look at the next couple of weeks here. It ain’t gonna be a classic run for Tijuana Sloughs, so keep your expectations in check. This is a river mouth setup, exposed to the swell, and it works best when the direction is WSW. Problem is, we’ve got a long stretch of marginal to poor conditions ahead, so you’re gonna have to pick your moments.

We start off Sunday the 23rd with a tiny SW swell, about 2 feet, period up around 19 seconds – nice long groundswell, but it’s getting chopped up by a 9 mph cross-onshore wind. Water’s sitting at 70°, just a touch warmer than average for this time of year, which is a little notable. The energy reading is weak, and the quality is poor. Monday and Tuesday look pretty grim too with similar small swell and light onshore breezes. The swell direction is mostly SW, not the optimum WSW, and the period is dropping, so no real shape to the waves.

It’s not until Wednesday the 26th we see a bit of a bump, with swell hitting around 5 to 5 feet and period down to 12 seconds. The wind is still cross-onshore though, so it’ll be fairly choppy. The energy starts to build, but quality is still marginal at best. That trend continues through the end of August, with Thursday and Friday dropping back down again. By Saturday the 29th, the swell pushes about 4 to 4 feet, period 16 seconds, but the cross-onshore wind just won’t ease off. It’s frustrating.

Look, the standout slot in this whole stretch is actually on Thursday the 3rd of September heading into Friday the 4th. We get a solid push of SSW groundswell. On Thursday morning, the swell is around 3 feet but the period jumps right up to 20 seconds – proper long-period groundswell – and the energy starts to ramp up. The wind is light and onshore, but by Thursday afternoon the swell is about 4 feet from SW with a period of 19 seconds and the energy goes well into the moderate range for the first time. The breeze is light cross-onshore, which might just keep the surface clean enough for a river mouth. Then Friday the 4th brings the peak: about 4 feet from SSW, period 17 seconds, energy at its highest in the window. Wind is light and onshore, so it could be workable. The direction is SSW, close to the optimum WSW, so it’ll wrap in alright. The crowd factor? This spot is *sometimes* busy, but with conditions being marginal for so long, you might have more room. This is the best on offer – a defined groundswell with decent size and energy, clean-ish winds, and the river setup should handle the long period reasonably well.

After that, it fades out again. Saturday the 5th and Sunday the 6th of September hover around 3 to 4 feet, with periods sliding back to 14-16 seconds, and the wind starts to swing cross-onshore or cross-shore at times, killing the quality. Monday the 7th is the last day in the window, with light SW swell, about 3 feet, and barely any wind, but it’s still rated marginal.

So, overall: a long, dry patch right at the start, then a slow build through the first few days of September. The clear standout is Thursday the 3rd through Friday the 4th, when the groundswell, energy, and light winds line up best. The rest is pretty forgettable.

Rusty.

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