Clifton Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, lookin’ at the forecast for Clifton Beach over the next 16 days. Gotta be straight with you—it starts off a bit rough.

Saturday, July 4th, we’ve got some serious swell, 7ft from the SSW with a 14-second period, and the combined energy is a strong 1949. But the wind is honkin’ from the WSW at 25 mph, cross-on and messy. Saturday afternoon it gets even bigger, 8ft with a 16-second period, energy jumps to 3577, but again, the wind is too strong. This is too big for beginners, and only for experts if it was clean, which it ain’t. This setup looks more like a kite day.

Sunday morning, July 5th, the swell drops to 7ft from the S with a 17-second period, but the wind is light and cross. The real standout, the best of the whole forecast, is Sunday afternoon. The swell is still a solid 6ft from the S, 16-second period, and the wind goes glassy, calm from the SW. The water is 53°F, which is about 2°F below the long-term average—so it’s pretty normal for this time of year, but bring a thick suit. The conditions are clean, and with that long period groundswell, the waves will have shape. This is for experts only due to the size, but it’s the cleanest we’ll see.

Monday morning, July 6th, the swell drops to 3ft, and the wind turns offshore from the NNW at 6 mph. It’s clean, but weak. Monday afternoon goes glassy again with 3ft, but it’s small. The next few days, Tuesday through Thursday, have small, clean surf with light winds, but the swell is under 4ft. The energy is moderate, nothing special.

Then we hit a flat spell. From Friday, July 10th, through Sunday, July 12th, the swell drops to tiny 0.7ft to 2ft waves. The wind is offshore, but the energy is in the double digits, under 100. That’s about 3 days of poor surf.

Monday, July 13th, the swell starts to rebuild. Monday afternoon is the second standout. The swell hits 5ft from the SSW with a very long 18-second period, and the energy is 1505. The wind is light and cross-off from the NW. It’s a clean, powerful groundswell for experienced surfers. A real pulse after the flat spell.

After that, Tuesday, July 14th, the swell is 5ft but the wind turns cross and picks up, making it choppy. The rest of the week into the 16th and 17th is small again, with 2ft to 3ft swells, light winds, and clean conditions, but the energy is low. Surfable, but ordinary.

For the second week, from July 13th onward, it’s small and inconsistent. The only real hope is that Monday afternoon pulse. After that, it’s a slow fade to tiny, offshore-affected waves that are clean but tiny. Crowds at Clifton Beach are often, so don’t expect to be alone.

So, the best of the lot: Sunday afternoon, July 5th, for the glassy 6ft S swell, and Monday afternoon, July 13th, for the 5ft SSW groundswell. Both are for experienced surfers. Other than that, it’s a quiet stretch.

Rusty.

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