Buffalo Bay Wildside Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, checking out the surf for the Wildside stretch of Buffalo Bay. We've got a bit of a mixed bag coming our way over the next couple of weeks, so let's break it down.

The water is sitting at 60°, which is a noticeable 3° colder than usual for the time of year. That'll feel a bit brisk on the paddle out.

We've got a slow start. Nothing really happening until Thursday, the 27th. Wednesday the 26th has some decent size, with 6ft swell from the S, but that 16 mph E wind is going to mess it up. Not worth the look.

Thursday the 27th is where it gets interesting. The morning is a standout. The swell is still a solid 7ft from the SSW, with a nice 12-second period, packing moderate energy (1460). The best part? Glassy. E wind at just 3 mph. It's going to be clean as a whistle. This is the pick of the first week. The afternoon drops to 5ft S swell, but still clean with a light cross-off breeze.

Friday the 28th is a write-off. Onshore wind and dropping swell. Saturday and Sunday morning also look poor due to onshore conditions. However, Sunday the 30th afternoon shows a glimmer. The wind goes completely glassy, and we get a 5ft SW swell with a long 13-second period (1089 energy). That will be clean but the sets will be a bit more spaced out. Monday the 31st is marginal, and Tuesday the 1st of September morning has some size (6ft) but onshore wind.

Now, the second week gets wild. Tuesday the 1st of September afternoon sees a massive jump to 12ft from the SW (4441 energy) but it's blowing 25 mph onshore. That's not paddle surfing, that's survival. Wednesday the 2nd and Thursday the 3rd are also oversized and windy.

The real standout in the second week is Friday the 4th of September. Massive swell is forecast, with 21ft from the ESE. This is over 8ft, so strictly for experts only. The energy reading is off the charts at 12551 – that's very strong wave energy. The wind looks good on Friday afternoon with a light cross-off breeze, and Saturday the 5th morning has a gentle offshore. The period is a very long 12-13 seconds, which means these swells will be powerful and will want to break a bit straighter on the beach, so the best waves will be found if it lines up right.

After that, things back off quickly. Sunday the 6th is back to onshore and choppy, and the following week drops right down to small 3ft to 4ft clean surf on the 8th of September. There's a bit of a lully 5ft windswell mid-week on the 9th but it's short period and messy.

So, to keep it simple: Thursday the 27th morning is your absolute best bet for clean, manageable size, and good conditions. If you're an expert and hungry for size, Friday the 4th of September is the big one, but it's a long-range call and could shift. Buffalo Bay Wildside sees a fair amount of swell, and this run shows it can go from flat to huge. It's an inconsistent break at times, so when these windows open up, it's worth jumping on them. For the massive swells early September, this break will just be a washing machine for paddle surfing – might be more appealing for the kite crew.

Rusty.

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