West Dale Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I’m staring at the charts for West Dale. Gotta be straight with you: it’s looking like a pretty dead stretch. We’ve got a long run of tiny, weak swell and wind that’s mostly on it or cross. If you’re keen for a paddle, there’s one tiny window, but you’ll be scratching for ankle-snappers.

The water’s sitting a touch warmer than usual for this time of year, about 64°, so the chill isn’t too bad. That’s the only easy thing about it.

Starting Friday afternoon, August 14th, through the rest of the month, it’s a grind. Swell is tiny—mostly 0.7 ft to 3 ft—and the period is short, between 5 and 8 seconds. That’s weak, chopped-up windswell. The combined energy is low, mostly in the double digits (12 to 80) with a couple mid-week bumps into low triple digits (102-133). Even when the swell kicks up a bit, like Wednesday morning the 19th with 5 ft from the west, the wind is a fresh cross-onshore (19 mph) making it lumpy. Every single call is “poor surf conditions.” Nothing is worth getting out of bed for.

There is one tiny flicker on Tuesday morning, August 25th. We get 6 ft of swell from the south, period a short 6 seconds, but the wind flips light offshore from the northeast (6 mph). That’s clean. The combined energy jumps to a moderate 288, and the model flips to “expect good surf conditions.” It’s not a classic—that short period will make it fat and a bit sectiony—but it’s the only rideable thing in the whole 16 days. After that, it’s back to mush and crummy cross-onshore junk.

So the standout is that Tuesday morning (August 25th) at West Dale. It’s the only real chance. For an exposed beach, a 6 ft south swell with clean offshore wind (6 mph) is the best we’ll see. It’ll be a bit lumpy and short-period, but the wind makes it workable. If you’re an intermediate, that’s your session. Get it before lunch, because the afternoon goes to crap with a cross-shore and the swell drops.

Honestly, for most of this period, with the poor surf quality and strong cross-shore winds, a beach setup like this looks a lot more interesting for kite surfing than for paddle surfing.

Stay patient. This run looks grim, but forecasts change. I’m Rusty.

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