Willow Creek Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’m lookin’ at this one spot, Willow Creek, and honestly, the outlook’s a bit of a mixed bag. It’s a reef break, consistent, and it handles a SW to W swell, but the numbers are telling me we’re not getting much real push for a while. The water’s sitting at 60°, which is pretty much normal for this time of year, nothing wild there.

The first real chance to paddle out comes Tuesday afternoon, the 11th of August. We’ve got a tiny 2 ft swell out of the SW, but it’s a long-period groundswell at 18 seconds, which is nice for shape, but the wave energy is weak (313). The wind is a light cross-on, so it’ll be a bit soft and bumpy. Honestly, not a standout.

Wednesday morning, the 12th, is where you’ll want to be. The swell picks up a touch to 2 ft from the SSW, still a 17-second period, giving it some real glide. The wind is glassy – dead calm – and that’s a major positive. The water will be clean as a whistle. The combined energy is moderate (382). It’s small, but it’ll be the cleanest surf of the week. After that, the wind swings cross-on or cross, and the quality drops.

We’ve got a long stretch of small, marginal surf through the rest of the week and into the next. The swell bumps up a bit around the 16th and 17th, hitting 3 ft to 4 ft, but the wind is always cross-shore or cross-onshore, so it’s not going to be a classic. The wave energy climbs into the moderate range (494 to 760), but the wind keeps it from being a standout.

The real potential pops up at the end of the window. On the 25th of August, Tuesday morning, we get a 3 ft swell from the SW, groundswell at 18 seconds, with a light cross-shore wind. The energy is strong (657). It’s a promising call, but it’s a long way out, so take it with a grain of salt. That afternoon, the swell jumps to 6 ft, but the period drops to a short, weak 6 seconds, and the direction goes WNW – not matching the optimum – so it’ll be a messy, wind-affected wall of whitewater. That’s more for the experts or maybe even kite gear.

If you’re a beginner, steer clear of that 6 ft day. The best bet for everyone is Wednesday morning, the 12th, for the cleanest, most rideable waves. The 25th morning is a distant second, if the forecast holds.

Rusty.

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