Banna Strand Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’m Rusty, and this is the outlook for your local stretch of coastline.

We’ve got a pretty grim run ahead, I’m not gonna sugarcoat it. For the first week and a half, conditions are just plain ugly, with poor surf quality and messy winds. The only real standout is a brief window of hope that appears around the 26th of August, but even that’s not a guaranteed classic. For the most part, you’ll be looking at choppy, onshore, or cross-shore junk with not much energy to work with. The water is sitting at 65°F right now, which is about 4°F warmer than usual for the time of year, so that’s a nice surprise for your skin, but it won’t save the waves.

Right now, today (17th August), Banna Strand is offering a tiny 3 ft swell from the west with a weak 8-second period. The combined energy is a measly 78, and it’s onshore wind. Not worth paddling out for. That trend continues through the 18th, 19th, and 20th, with building swell but all of it getting hammered by onshore and cross-shore winds. On the 19th, the swell hits 12 ft from the west-northwest with a long period of 11 seconds, and the energy jumps to 2739, which is a lot of power, but the wind is howling onshore at 19 mph. That’s a washing machine, only for the hardcore.

The 20th, 21st, and 22nd are still no good. The 22nd morning actually shows some clean conditions with a light cross-offshore breeze, but the swell is only 1 ft and the energy is just 71. It’s surfable, but barely. Glassy conditions on the morning of the 24th with a 2 ft swell, but again, no real push.

The standout in this whole period is the morning of Wednesday, 26th August. The wind goes light and cross-offshore from the south-southeast, making the surf clean. The swell is 4 ft from the west-northwest with a 9-second period, and the combined energy is a moderate 317. It’s not massive, but it’s the best wave quality we’ve seen by a long shot. The break is a sandbar, so it should have some shape, and the direction is coming from the optimum west-northwest. This is the one to target if you’re flexible on your schedule. Keep in mind, crowds are often here, so expect company.

After that, the 27th and 28th mornings see a return of marginal conditions, with the 28th morning offering a 8 ft swell from the west (energy 1092) but with onshore cross-wind, making it a messy, powerful option only for experts. The 29th and 30th slide back into the same pattern of onshore winds and lumpy surf. The 31st of August brings a risk of thunderstorms and strong onshore winds with a 7 ft swell, which is more of a kite-surfing setup than a clean paddle session. The first of September is the same story.

So, to sum it up: save your energy for the morning of the 26th of August. That’s your best bet. Everything else is either blown out, too small, or just plain messy.

Rusty

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