Cromer Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab a coffee and settle in. Rusty here, looking at what’s coming up for us over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be honest with you, straight off the bat – it’s a pretty lean period for Cromer. The charts are showing a whole lot of nothing for a long stretch.

We kick things off on Friday 11th, but the swell is a measly 1 ft from the NW with a short, weak 4-second period. The combined energy is a tiny 8, and even though the water’s a touch warmer than normal at 65 °F, the conditions are just poor. Honestly, don’t even bother checking it. We then go into a blackout. For over a week, from Saturday the 12th right through to Tuesday the 16th, there’s barely a ripple. We see tiny bits of swell, mostly under 3 ft, but the wind is often cross-off or onshore, and the wave comment is always “poor surf conditions.” It’s a brutal run of flatness.

There’s a slight glimmer in the middle of this quiet spell. On Monday afternoon the 14th, we get a little 0.7 ft wave from the N, but get this – the period jumps to a very long 12 seconds. That’s proper groundswell energy (combined energy of 13), and it’s glassy, with a light WNW breeze. It’s tiny, but for a longboard or a quiet paddle, that’s the most interesting moment of the first week. The glassy wind is a major positive, but the size isn’t enough to write home about.

Moving into the second week, we start seeing some more size, but the quality is mixed. Wednesday the 16th morning brings a 4 ft swell from the NW with a 5-second period, but it’s cross-onshore at 19 mph, making it lumpy. The afternoon cleans up to a cross-off wind, with a 3 ft wave from the NNW. By Wednesday the 22nd, we get a consistent 3 ft from the NNW with a 6-second period (combined energy 56-62), but the wind is cross-on both morning and afternoon. It’s surfable, but not pretty.

For the best on offer, you’re looking at the tail end of the forecast. Thursday the 24th afternoon has a 2 ft from the WNW with a 4-second period, but the wind is offshore from the S at 12 mph – that means clean, peeling lines at the pier. It’s small, but the offshore is rare and valuable. Another standout is Friday the 25th: we get a 3 ft from the NNW on the morning (gentle 9 mph cross-off, clean), and a 2 ft in the afternoon (12 mph cross-off, clean). The combined energy is 34-39 – moderate – and for Cromer, that’s a decent little pulse with clean conditions.

So, to wrap it up: unless you’re desperate for a glassy micro-session on the 14th, or you can wait for the offshore winds on the 24th and 25th, you’re better off taking a week off. The surf just isn’t coming together consistently. This area can stay flat for days, and this is one of those stretches. The best window looks like Thursday 24th afternoon and all of Friday 25th. Keep an eye on the forecasts for those dates – they might clean up even more.

Rusty.

Read more