15th Street Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, let’s get into it.

Alright, this forecast for 15th Street has a bit of a slow start, and honestly, most of the first week is pretty mediocre. We’re looking at a long stretch of mostly marginal surf with onshore or cross-onshore winds making things choppy or messy. There’s a bit of swell energy showing up, but the conditions just aren’t there to make it count.

We start on Tuesday the 25th of August with small, clean-ish waves. Swell is coming from the SW at 2ft, but with a long 16-second period. That groundswell has some moderate energy behind it (408), and with light west winds blowing onshore, it might be a bit soft and straight. Water temp is about average for the time of year. Not exactly gonna light your fire.

Wednesday the 26th picks up a bit to 5ft from the S, 12-second period. That’s a moderate energy of 961, but it’s cross-onshore and the report says it’s choppy. A bit of a messy one. This pattern of small surf and iffy wind holds through the rest of the week. By Friday the 28th, we see a tiny 3ft SSW swell with a very long 19-second period. That’s got some energy (698), but with wind on it, it’ll be hard to tap into that long-period power.

The weekend of the 29th and 30th is similar. Swell stays around 3ft to 4ft, with periods over 15 seconds, but the wind keeps it from being clean. The combined swell energy gets into the 900s at times, so there’s push there, but the surface is just not cooperating. This stretch feels like a tease.

From Monday the 31st of August through to Wednesday the 9th of September, it’s a real downtrend. Swell drops below 3ft, and the reports keep calling it “poor.” The combined energy dips into the low hundreds and even below 300. There’s an uptick on Friday the 4th of September, with a 4ft SSW groundswell and a 17-second period. The energy hits 989, which is solid moderate, and the wind is onshore from the west at 9 mph. That could be the pick of the second week, but it’s a long way out and I’d call it promising but not a lock. The surf quality still gets marked as marginal.

The standout? Honestly, there isn’t a true standout session here. The best you’ll get is probably Friday the 4th of September. The swell is 4ft from the SSW, period at 17 seconds, and combined energy is high at 989. If that wind stays a light onshore, it might shape up a bit. But it's a long-range call and the overall stamp is just "marginal." Don’t get your hopes up too high, mate.

Since it’s picking up a bit of energy at times, I wouldn’t rule out a kite surfer having more fun than a paddle surfer on the windier days. The beach-and-reef setup might be more interesting for them.

So, for the next two weeks, 15th Street is more about waiting for a proper clean window than scoring anything memorable. The breaks are small, the wind is a pain, and the consistency is poor. It’s a bit of a bleak run, but that’s the area sometimes. Forecasts change.

Rusty.

Read more