Topaz Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Yo, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you - the next 16 days around Topaz Street are pretty grim. We've got a long stretch of mostly poor surf conditions with only a few narrow windows that might be worth a paddle. The water is running at 74°F for the first surf, which is a whopping 8°F warmer than usual for this time of year – that's very unusual and feels like a tropical bath.

The first decent look comes Thursday the 3rd of September. Topaz Street is a beach/jetty setup, fairly consistent, exposed to west swell. Thursday morning, we've got a small 1ft groundswell from the SW, with a very long 15-second period. The combined wave energy is moderate (187). The wind is light SSE at 6 mph, blowing cross-offshore, so the surface is clean. It's small, but it's rideable. The afternoon turns to a cross-on 9 mph WSW wind and the surf quality drops right off.

Friday the 4th of September morning is your best bet in this whole outlook. The swell bumps up to 3ft from the SSW, with a long 17-second period. The combined energy is solidly moderate (433). The wind is SE at 9 mph, cross-offshore, keeping it clean. The optimum swell direction here is W, and this is coming from the SSW, so it's a bit off, but it's still the standout. The afternoon goes onshore and choppy, so make the morning session.

Saturday the 5th of September morning is marginal. The swell holds at 3ft from the SSW, 16-second period, combined energy 433. But the wind is light SSW at 3 mph, cross-onshore, leaving small ripples. It's a maybe, not a definite.

Sunday the 6th of September morning is the other highlight. The swell is 3ft from the S, 14-second period, combined energy 476. The wind is glassy at WSW 3 mph – dead calm. That's a major positive; the surface will be like glass. This is the best quality of the run. The afternoon goes onshore WSW at 9 mph, so get out early.

From Monday the 7th of September onwards, it's a slow bleed. The swell stays around 3ft to 4ft through the week, but the wind is consistently onshore or cross-onshore, especially afternoons. The period drops to 13-14 seconds, and the wave energy stays moderate (in the 400-500 range), but the conditions are just poor. Morning windows on the 7th, 8th, and 9th are all marginal at best.

There's a real gap in quality from the 10th of September through to the 18th of September. The swell drops right down to 1.0ft to 3ft, and the wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore. The 12th of September morning has a 5ft swell from the W, but with a short, weak 7-second period and combined energy of 536. The wind is cross-shore, but the period is so short the waves will be soft and lumpy. The 17th and 18th of September mornings have some very long-period groundswell (20-22 seconds) from the SW, but the swell height is tiny, 1ft to 2ft, and the wind is cross-onshore. It's a tease.

The bottom line: the mornings of Friday the 4th and Sunday the 6th of September are your only real shouts. The rest is a write-off. If you're a beginner, that 3ft to 3ft stuff is fine, but don't expect much. The crowds at Topaz Street can be present, so you'll have company on those few clean windows. Honestly, this stretch looks more like a kiteboarding window than a surfing one, especially with the onshore winds.

Rusty.

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