Jersey Shore Surf Forecast
Surf forecast for the New Jersey shore — Manasquan, Belmar, Asbury Park, Long Beach Island, Atlantic City, and the Cape May–Wildwood beaches.
The Jersey Shore runs north-south, with most beaches facing roughly E to ENE. From the Sandy Hook–Long Branch stretch in the north through the Manasquan/Belmar area, down past Asbury Park, Seaside, and onto Long Beach Island, the orientation shifts subtly enough that nearby spots can produce noticeably different surf on the same forecast.
Hurricane season (August–October) is the high water mark — clean east-southeast swells, often with light offshore mornings before the sea breeze. Nor'easters from late autumn through winter generate big NE swells; quality varies because the same systems usually bring strong onshore winds at the same time as the swell.
Spring and fall transitions produce some of the cleanest windows of the year — moderate swells from passing systems with offshore winds behind them. Summer is mostly small with afternoon onshore sea breezes; dawn patrol is your friend.
The Jersey shore has well-organized sandbar deposits next to its many piers and jetties (Manasquan being the classic). These produce more focused, peaky waves than open-beach stretches. Water runs cold for surfers — low 40s °F in February, peaking only mid-70s in August.