Depressions Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. The outlook for Depressions is a bit of a slow burn, to be honest. We’re looking at a long stretch where the conditions are just not cooperating, with a lot of small, choppy, and poor-quality surf. The water temperature is running at 70°F, which is 7° warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s a seriously unusual anomaly, so the water is feeling like a bath.

The first few days are a write-off. From Monday the 7th to Wednesday the 9th, we have tiny, weak waves with a combined energy sitting between 194 and 392 (moderate), but the wind is all cross-onshore or onshore, and the wave comment is consistently "poor surf conditions." It’s not worth paddling out for.

Things start to look a little less hopeless around Thursday the 10th. The morning shows a 2ft swell from the SW with a long 17-second period, and there’s a light onshore breeze, but the energy is moderate (335). It’s still only borderline, a "marginal" call. Friday and Saturday the 11th and 12th are much the same – small, clean-looking but with poor-quality declarations.

The real potential doesn’t start to show until the second week. Sunday the 13th sees a bump in size to 6ft from the WNW, but the period drops to a short 7 seconds, and the wind is cross-onshore, so it’s not going to be clean. The combined energy climbs to 414 (moderate). By Monday the 14th, we’ve got a 5ft WNW swell with a slightly better 8-second period and light winds, but it’s still only "marginal."

Now, the one standout in this entire forecast window is the afternoon of Sunday the 20th of September. The swell jumps to 8ft from the WNW, with a combined energy of 839 (strong). The wind is a light 3 mph onshore breeze from the SW, which is about as glassy as it gets. This is the biggest push of the entire period. However, with the swell over 8ft, this is expert territory only. The period is a short 7 seconds, so it’ll be a bit of a messy, lumpy beast, but for the experienced crew, there will be some heavy, powerful waves to be had. The morning of the 20th is also a good option with a 5ft swell and light winds, but the energy is a bit lower at 602.

Honestly, aside from that Sunday the 20th, the rest of the 16-day window is a slog. There are long gaps of days with no real recommendation. The consistent theme is small, cross-onshore, and poor. It’s a tough run for Depressions.

Rusty.

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