Huntington Beach • Statistics for August

August: Peak Water Temps, Peak Onshore Flow

August mirrors July as another month in the summer lull. The swell average stays at 0.8m (2.5ft), with a long-period 13.7s and a direction mix of 45% SW, 27% SSW, and 23% WSW-a textbook Southern Hemisphere fetch pumping right into the Huntington coastline. But with ideal offshore winds at 1% and onshore SW/WSW flow near 87%, the wave quality remains poor. The strong, steady sea breeze (often from WSW at 15-20kph) puts a persistent chop on top of the already-smooth summertime swells. Even with the longest-period energy of the year, the waves seldom break clean; they tend to close out or get blown into a crumbly mess. Water temp reaches its yearly peak of 18.0°C (64.4°F), air averages 20.9°C (69.6°F), and precipitation is all but nil. The inside of the pier might hold some fun sandbar peaks at dawn, but the summer crowd makes the lineup a zoo. That's Huntington in August.