Clifton Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up at Clifton Beach.

Right now, it’s a bit of a write-off. Wednesday the 29th is a mess with strong cross and cross-onshore winds ruining any chance of a wave, so don’t bother paddling out. Thursday the 30th is much the same – poor conditions with a moderate cross-onshore breeze and short period chop. Honestly, there’s nothing worth chasing until Friday the 31st.

Friday morning sees a drop in wind, turning light and cross-offshore, with small 2 ft swell out of the SSW at a long 12 seconds. It’s clean but tiny – just a few grovelly waves if you’re desperate. By Friday afternoon the wind dies to glass, the swell shifts to a 2 ft S pulse, and it’s glassy. Still small, but at least it’s pretty.

Now, the first standout window arrives Saturday the 1st of August. Saturday morning brings a moderate offshore breeze from the NNW and a clean 3 ft SSW swell with a very long 17-second period. The combined swell energy is strong at 519. By Saturday afternoon, it gets even better: glassy conditions with a 4 ft SSW groundswell, 18-second period, and massive energy at 835. This is the pick of the week – clean, lined-up, and powerful for its size. Sunday the 2nd holds similar form with offshore winds and 3 ft to 3 ft SSW swell, still with that long 16-second period and moderate energy readings. It’s good but not quite the peak.

Monday the 3rd drops right back – small 2 ft waves with offshore wind, but barely enough to stand up on. The rest of the first week goes flat and messy, with poor surf quality and cross-shore winds through Tuesday and Wednesday.

There’s a gap of several days of ordinary-to-poor conditions until the next real highlight. That comes on Sunday the 9th of August. Sunday morning brings a clean 4 ft SSW swell with a 14-second period, light offshore wind from the N, and good energy at 423. It’s a solid, fun size. But the absolute standout of the whole outlook is Tuesday the 11th. Tuesday morning delivers a clean 3 ft SSW groundswell with an incredible 21-second period, light offshore wind, and powerful energy at 1028. Tuesday afternoon is nearly as good with 4 ft SSW swell at 20 seconds and 1001 energy. This is the real gem – very long period, clean, and punchy. It’s best suited for the points and reefs, but Clifton Beach being a fairly exposed beach break, those long-period swells can sometimes be a bit too straight. Still, with the wind light and clean, I’d be out there.

Wednesday the 12th fades with cross-shore winds and choppier conditions, and the rest of the week drops back to small, clean but unexciting waves through to Thursday the 13th.

As for the water, it’s about 53°F with a slight negative anomaly – so just a touch cooler than average for this time of year. Nothing wild, but keep the thermal on.

Overall, the clear winner is Saturday the 1st of August (especially the afternoon glass-off) and Tuesday the 11th of August with that super long period groundswell. If you can only pick one, make it Tuesday the 11th – it’s got the grunt, the period, and the clean conditions to make for a memorable session.

Stay salty,
Rusty

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