Depressions Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Look, I’ve gotta be straight with you – the next 16 days at Depressions are a real mixed bag, and honestly, there’s not a lot to get excited about. The overall pattern is a whole lot of onshore and cross-onshore winds messing up what could be some decent swell. The water is a blistering 71°, which is a whopping 7° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s a very unusual anomaly, you’d be boiling in a steamer.

We start off on Thursday the 27th of August with a tiny 2ft south swell at 11 seconds, and a combined energy of 275 (moderate). But the WNW cross-shore at 6 mph is just making a mess of it. It’s a marginal situation, and the score is low. Not worth paddling out for.

Friday the 28th is even worse. The morning has a bit of a 3ft WNW swell but with a poor 8-second period and a score of zero. The afternoon drops to 1ft. It’s a write-off.

Saturday the 29th sees the swell energy jump up – the combined energy is 575 in the morning and 623 in the afternoon (strong). We’re looking at a 2ft SW groundswell with a long 17-second period in the morning, and 16 seconds in the arvo. That’s a proper groundswell. But the wind is cross-onshore, picking up to 16 mph in the afternoon, which will turn it into a choppy, bumpy mess. For a beach break like Depressions, that long period swell will likely break too straight. It’s a shame, because the energy is there, but the conditions are a zero.

Sunday the 30th through to Tuesday the 1st of September is more of the same – cross-onshore winds and poor surf. The only flicker of hope is on Tuesday afternoon, the 1st of September. The wind goes glassy, with a light SSW at 3 mph. The swell is 2ft from the south at 11 seconds, with a combined energy of 168 (moderate). The notes say “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions,” and the score is just a 1. It’s the best on offer, but that’s a low bar.

From Wednesday the 2nd of September through to the end of the run, we’ve got a fairly consistent little run of knee-to-waist high swell, mostly 2ft to 3ft from the south, with periods between 11 and 17 seconds. The combined energy fluctuates between 212 and 461 (moderate to strong). But the wind is almost always cross-onshore, with a few moments of “on” offshore wind. The scores are all 0 or 1.

The standout – if you can call it that – is Tuesday the 1st of September afternoon. That glassy window is the one chance at a clean wave, even if it’s tiny. The other small window is on the 8th of September (Tuesday) morning, with an 18-second period SSW swell at 1ft and a light offshore SW wind. But it’s a marginal call, and the swell is tiny. For a fairly consistent spot like Depressions, this run of poor conditions is a bummer, but forecasts can change.

Rusty.

Read more