Etretat Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here, your local surf reporter for the Etretat region. I've been staring at the charts for the next couple of weeks, and I gotta level with you—it's a heartbreaking run for all of us in Normandy. We’ve got a solid 16-day window, but honestly, there’s almost no surf worth paddling out for. The first real pulse of energy doesn’t show up until over a week away, and even then, it’s a grim battle with the wind and conditions. The water’s sitting at a very unusual 69° right now at Etretat for that first session, which is way warmer than what we're used to for this time of year, almost three degrees above normal.

Let’s walk through it. The week starts with nothing but frustration. Wednesday the 2nd and Thursday the 3rd bring some waves, a few around 1ft to 5ft, but the wind is pumping 12 to 19 mph from the southwest, making a mess of things. The combined swell energy on Thursday morning hits a moderate 158, but the poor surf conditions label says it all. Friday the 4th is more of the same—5ft to 5ft swell with fresh offshore wind, but the forecast calls it poor. Saturday and Sunday the 5th and 6th drop right off into tiny, weak dribble. Sunday afternoon sees a moment of glassy conditions, but the swell is only 1ft with a combined energy of 14. Not enough to even get wet for.

Monday the 7th and Tuesday the 8th are a write-off too, with barely a ripple. It’s not until Wednesday the 11th that we see something with power. On Friday morning the 11th, the swell jumps to 7ft from the west with a period of 7 seconds, and the combined energy is a strong 508. That’s over 8ft, so this is expert territory only. The problem? It’s coming from the northwest at 16 mph, a stiff cross-onshore wind. That’s going to chop it up bad. It’s a bit too messy for a paddle surfer—honestly, this looks more interesting for kite surfing than a clean wave ride.

Saturday the 12th hangs in there with 6ft swell from the west-northwest, but again, the wind is wrong. The best glimpse we get all period is Sunday the 13th. In the afternoon, the swell hits 6ft from the west with a 7-second period, combined energy of 351 (moderate-to-strong), and the wind goes completely glassy—0 mph. That’s the one moment where conditions line up. The wave direction is west, which matches the optimum direction for Etretat. It’s a reef break, and it breaks consistently, so there’s hope for a clean, lined-up wave. But the crowd factor is "sometimes," so expect a few locals out. The session on Sunday afternoon is genuinely the standout for the entire 16-day window.

After that, the energy fades. Monday the 14th is flat, Tuesday the 15th is tiny 1ft dribble, and Wednesday the 16th is a howling 28 mph offshore wind with no swell to ride. Thursday the 17th brings 5ft from the west with a 9-second period and combined energy of 299, but the wind is a messy cross-shore from the northwest at 22 mph, ruining the shape.

So here’s the honest truth: if you can wait, the only window with any real hope is Sunday the 13th afternoon. It’s a proper glass-off with size and energy. Everything else is either too small, too windy, or too choppy to be worth the hassle. The crowd will be there for that one, but it might just be clean enough for a few waves.

Rusty.

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