Depressions Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s talk about Depressions. To be straight up with you, this stretch is a real struggle. The whole 16-day window is pretty much a write-off for any proper surfing. The swell is tiny, the wind is constantly messing things up, and the forecasts just keep serving up poor conditions day after day.

We’re looking at a long gap of nothing but small, weak, and messy surf. From Thursday the 20th of August right through to the end of the month, it’s a continuous run of poor surf. The swell never gets above 3ft and is mostly sitting around 1ft to 2ft, with a short period of around 6 to 14 seconds, so there’s just no power or shape. The wind is almost always cross-on or onshore, leaving the surface choppy and bumpy. There is one afternoon on Saturday the 22nd of August that shows a 3ft swell from the WNW, but the period is a super short 6 seconds and the wind is cross-on, so it’s just a weak, lumpy mushburger. Not worth getting wet for.

As we roll into the first week of September, things get a little bigger but not any better. We see some swells bumping up to 5ft or even 5ft from the WNW, but the period is still a dreadful 6 to 8 seconds. The wind is stubbornly cross-on or onshore, so that’s just going to be a choppy, difficult mess. There’s a brief moment on the morning of Thursday the 3rd of September where the wind looks like it might be straight onshore from the SW, and we get a 5ft WNW swell... but the period is only 7 seconds and the score is just marginal. Not a stand-out.

The best of a bad bunch, if you can even call it that, would be the morning of Friday the 4th of September. The wind swings light onshore from the SSW, the swell is only 2ft but it’s got a proper 18-second period, which is a long groundswell. That’s a lot of energy for such a small wave. The combined energy is 412, which is moderate. For a beach break like Depressions, a long-period swell like that will likely break too straight and close out, but if you’re a beginner, it might be one of the cleanest, weakest days you’ll see. The water temperature is a very unusual 69°, which is much warmer than normal for the time of year, so at least you won't be cold while you sit there.

Honestly, this is a blank run. There’s nothing to get excited about. For an area where the consistency is only “fairly consistent,” this kind of stretch is more normal than you’d hope. Keep an eye on it, but for now, I’d leave the board in the car and maybe go for a swim.

Rusty.

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