Clifton Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s get into it for Clifton Beach. The outlook is a bit of a slow burner, but there’s a definite window of quality surf coming up if you’re patient.

The first few days are pretty ordinary with small, choppy waves. Monday the 10th and Tuesday the 11th are a write-off for the most part, with onshore winds and messy conditions. By Tuesday afternoon, the wind goes light and cross-offshore, and we get a clean 2.3ft SSW swell with a very long period of 18 seconds. That’s a proper groundswell, but it’s small. The combined energy is moderate, sitting at 448. It’s surfable, but you’ll be fighting for little runners.

The real standout window starts to build on Friday the 14th. The morning sees a 5.2ft SSW swell, period of 17 seconds, and a light cross-offshore breeze from the NW. The conditions are clean, and the combined energy here is a solid 1470, which is a strong, powerful pulse. This is excellent surf for experienced surfers. The water temperature is about average for this time of year, so no major surprises there. This is your best bet of the entire forecast, but be aware that it’s a fairly exposed beach break, so that long-period groundswell might wall up and close out sections. It’s not a point break, so pick your peak carefully.

Saturday the 15th ramps up in size but the quality drops. An 8.2ft SW swell rolls in with a shorter 14-second period, but the wind is onshore and the energy is a massive 3685. That’s a lot of water moving, but onshore wind and big swell makes for a messy, choppy, dangerous day. This is only for experts, and honestly, with that wind and the beach break setup, it looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

After that, the swell fades quickly. The rest of the second week drops back to tiny, weak waves below 2.3ft with very low combined energy (mostly under 300). There are some glassy mornings with clean conditions, like on the 16th and 17th, but the swell is just too small to get excited about. The 16th afternoon has a glassy 2.3ft SSW swell, but it’s weak. The 18th morning has a clean 2.0ft S swell with a solid 18-second period, but again, it’s tiny. The 19th through the 25th are mostly small, clean, offshore winds, but the waves are less than 1.6ft. It’s a long, flat spell after the 15th, so don’t plan any trips around the end of the forecast.

In the end, Friday the 14th morning is the clear winner. Get on it.

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