Torrance Beach/Burn Out Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, I'm not gonna sugarcoat it – the next week and a half is a real struggle. The charts are showing a whole lot of nothing for a solid run of days. We are looking at a big, flat patch with barely a ripple worth paddling for. We are looking at a stretch of days where you’d be better off waxing your board and just staring at it in the living room. The water temp at Torrance Beach/Burn Out is a whopping 71°, which is 6° warmer than usual for this time of year. It feels more like a bath than the Pacific right now.

The swell energy is weak, mostly in the 100s and 200s range (that's 145-394 for the numbers nerds), which is just not enough to push anything fun through. The wind is mostly cross-onshore or onshore, and the wave comments for almost every session are just "poor." Not a good look.

All the way out on Tuesday the 18th of August, we finally get a little window. The morning shows a light 9 mph cross-offshore breeze from the SE, creating clean conditions. The swell is a tiny 2 ft from the SSW with a period of 16 seconds. That longer period means a bit more shape, but the size is minimal, so it's a "surfable" call if you're desperate for a wet session and just want to bob around. Combined energy is 334 (moderate), and the comment says "expect good conditions" for the first time.

Then, we’ve got two more similar windows on Thursday the 20th and Friday the 21st of August. Both mornings have a light cross-offshore breeze cleaning things up again. The swell will be small at 2 ft from the SSW with a 14-second period that drops to 13 seconds. It’s still very small but the conditions will be clean, which is a major positive after a week of chop. The combined energy on Thursday morning is 214 and on Friday it’s 201 (weak to moderate). You won't be getting barrelled, but it will be a clean, glassy wave for a longboard or a foamie.

Finally, on Tuesday the 25th of August, we have another clean morning with 6 mph cross-offshore winds from the SSE. The swell is 1 ft from the SW with a 16-second period, and the energy is 167. The comment is "surfable waves but very ordinary conditions" but the wind is clean, so it's about as good as this window gets.

Look, to be honest, the 16-day forecast is a dud. There's nothing that stands out. The cleanest windows are on the 18th, 20th, 21st, and 25th of August, but you’re looking at knee-high at best. If you are really keen to get wet, those mornings are your only shot. But don't expect much.

Rusty out.

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