Depressions Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Well, let’s be honest with you — the next couple of weeks are looking pretty grim for a paddle. The guidance for Depressions is calling it a fairly consistent spot, but consistent in this case mostly means consistent small, chopped-up lines with cross-onshore winds messing things up. There’s a real dry spell on the cards, and we’re looking at a long stretch of marginal to poor conditions before anything even remotely worth getting wet for shows up.

The first week is a write-off. From Friday the 14th all the way through to around Thursday the 27th, the surf is tiny — mostly under 3 ft — and the wind is constantly cross-on or onshore. Sure, it’s clear skies and light breezes, but the waves are short-period leftovers with no push. The energy readings stay weak to moderate, mostly in the 200 to 300 range, and the swell direction is all over the place, swinging from SSW to WNW. That’s not surf, that’s just bump.

There is a small pulse on Tuesday the 18th with 3 ft to 4 ft swell, but the period crashes to 8 seconds — that’s just wind chop trying to pass as surf. It’s poor quality, and the wind is on it anyway. Nothing to chase there.

We’ve got a few mornings with light onshore wind and tiny 1 ft to 3 ft waves, but a 1 ft wave on a 16-second period is still just a knee-high ripple. It breaks, but it won’t hold your board.

The one moment that stands out, and it’s a long way off, is the morning of Friday the 28th of August. That’s when we finally see something with a bit of life. The swell jumps to 5 ft from the S with a 14-second period, and the combined energy reading jumps to 1026 — that’s the first time we’ve seen strong energy in this whole forecast. The swell direction is from the south, and the guidance for Depressions says it’s most exposed to WSW and optimum from WSW. So this S direction isn’t perfect, but it’s the best we’ve got. The wind is light onshore in the morning, but with a bit of luck it cleans up. It’s not huge, but it’s real surf.

The day after, Saturday the 29th, still has some energy with 3 ft from the S at 11 seconds and energy at 448, but it’s already starting to fade. That Friday morning is the pick, and it’s promising, but as a long-range call it’s far from guaranteed. Still, if you can wait that long, it might just be worth the drought.

Water temp around here? No major anomaly flagged, so it’s about average for the time of year. Nothing to worry about.

Honestly, the setup for the next week looks more interesting for a kite than a surfboard — small waves, cross-onshore breeze, and poor shape. I’d be waxing the board up for the end of the month, not the weekend.

Rusty.

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