Wildwood Crest Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here with the look ahead for our stretch of beach at Wildwood Crest. I gotta be straight with you – the next couple of weeks are looking pretty bleak for a proper paddle. We’ve got a long, flat spell on the cards before anything with any grunt shows up.

First up, the water temp is sitting at 78°, which is a touch warmer than normal for mid-August. That’s nice if you’re taking a dip, but not much help for the surf.

From now, all the way through to the end of next week, it’s a whole lot of nothing. We’re talkin’ tiny dribbles, mostly below 2 ft, with weak, short-period energy. The combined swell energy barely cracks double digits most days, sitting between 4 and 86 (weak). The wind adds insult to injury – mostly onshore or cross-onshore, making a mess of any ripple that tries to form. You’d be better off with a kite than a surfboard for this stretch.

We get a tiny tease on the morning of the 17th – a 2 ft SSE swell and clean conditions with an offshore breeze. But the energy’s still low at 51, and the “surfable but very ordinary” report says it all. A session for a longboard maybe, but nothing to get excited about. Wednesday the 19th sees a jump in energy to 212 (moderate) from a longer-period 3 ft SE swell, but that southerly wind is right on it, trashing any chance of a clean wave.

Now, the standouts are right at the tail end of the run. Thursday the 27th and Friday the 28th finally deliver some size. We’re looking at a 5 ft to 5 ft ENE swell, with combined energy jumping into the strong zone (173 on Thursday morning, peaking at 264 Thursday afternoon, and 216 on Friday). That’s real wave energy, but the catch is the wind. It’s going to be a cross-onshore breeze from the east at 12-15 mph. That’ll put a bump on it, keeping it from being truly clean.

This is expert territory at that size, and the shorter period (6-7 seconds) means it’s gonna be a bit dumpy and sectiony on our sandbar. Still, it’s the only real push of swell in the whole outlook. If you’re an experienced local and you’re desperate for some juice, the 27th and 28th are your best bet, just don’t expect perfection. The crowd shouldn't be too wild given the conditions, but there will be a few of us out there.

Bottom line: a whole lot of flat, bookended by a couple of days of chunky, onshore wind swell that’s only for the experienced crew.

Rusty.

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