Broken Head Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cooking for the Broken Head area over the next couple of weeks. Gotta be honest with you, it’s a bit of a frustrating run if you’re itching for a proper session. The opening days are pretty flat and messy, but there are a few potential moments if you’re patient and picky.

The first real whisper of surfable waves arrives on the morning of Monday the 14th of September. We’ve got a tiny little south-southeast groundswell pushing in at 3ft with a decent 11-second period. It’s glassy, dead calm, and the water’s sitting at 69°, which is pretty much spot on for this time of year—nothing unusual there. The combined energy is weak, only 177, so it’s not going to knock your socks off. It’s surfable, but it’s very ordinary. Honestly, not one to set the alarm for.

Things go totally quiet again after that morning. The next few days are choked with poor conditions—strong onshore winds, garbage swell, and choppy water. Tuesday and Wednesday are write-offs.

Now, Wednesday afternoon on the 16th of September is where it gets a bit wild. The swell jumps up to a solid 10ft from the south-southeast, but the period is short at 8 seconds. The energy reading hits 1368, which is strong, but the wind is a stiff 35 km/h cross-off. That’s a clean look for the surface, but with that much size and short period, it’s going to be a washing machine and only for the experienced crew. The Thursday morning the 17th holds similar size at 10ft, period a better 10 seconds, and energy even higher at 1964. Still cross-off wind, so it’s clean on the face, but the power is serious—this is expert territory.

The standout window, if you can call it that, looks like Friday morning the 18th of September. Swell has dropped to a more manageable 6ft from the south-southeast, period at 9 seconds, and the energy is moderate at 498. The wind is a light 15 km/h cross-off, keeping things clean. It’s the most user-friendly size in this whole run, and the forecast even says “expect good surf conditions” for that morning. But don’t get too excited—the rest of Friday afternoon falls apart with cross-onshore wind.

After that, the second week is pretty patchy. Saturday the 19th through to Monday the 21st is mostly small and messy. There’s a little blip on Tuesday morning the 22nd of September: glassy conditions, a 6ft swell from the south-southeast, but the period is short at 6 seconds. Energy is moderate at 233. It’s clean on top, but the short period means it’ll be soft and weak.

From the 23rd of September onward, the swell swings more east and east-northeast, but the wind is consistently onshore or cross-onshore. The size is there—between 5ft and 7ft—but the wind messes it up every afternoon. The morning of Saturday the 26th of September shows a 7ft east-northeast groundswell with a long 11-second period, and energy is strong at 1378. The wind is just a light breeze, but it’s onshore. A bit of a shame, as that swell has some grunt, but the direction is wrong for Broken Head. It’s a point break that loves an east-northeast optimum, but that direction with onshore wind just doesn’t line up.

So, if I had to pick the best on offer, it’s the Friday morning on the 18th of September. That’s the one with the cleanest conditions and a size that’s fun for most. The Thursday morning of the 17th is a serious swell for experts only. Everything else is either too small, too windy, or too short-period.

Keep your head up, though—forecasts can change, and it never stays flat forever around here.

Rusty.

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