Surf Forecasts:
Fortress surf forecast from 8 Sep 2026:
- Best quality surf: Monday 14 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 9s period, SE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 10 Sep, 5AM (local time) - 6ft (1.9m), 7s period, SSW swell with 316 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Monday 14 Sep, 2AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 9s period with SE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Fortress this week:
The surf forecast for Fortress over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Monday (Sep 14) at 2AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.4m and 9s period with a secondary swell of 0.7m and 5s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Fortress in the next 16 days are 1.9m 7s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Sep 10) at 5AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 1.5m 6s period and expected on Tuesday (Sep 15) at 2AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 2AM (Mon 14th Sep) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 2AM (Mon 14th Sep) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 5AM (Thu 10th Sep) | 6ft (1.9m) 7s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Fortress over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s on offer for Fortress over the next couple of weeks. Gotta be straight with you – this one’s a tough stretch.
Right now and for the next few days, there’s nothing doing. Tiny, weak, and messy. The whole first week from September 8th right through to the 20th is basically a write-off. We’ve got a long dry spell with hardly any rideable waves. Most days show swells around 0.3 ft to 1 ft with combined energy all under 100 (as low as 4 to 54 in the brackets). The wind is all over the place too – cross, cross-off, onshore – but with almost no swell to work with, it doesn’t matter much. It’s flat and frustrating.
There is a brief flicker on the morning of September 10th (Thursday) when a short-period SSW swell bumps up to 5 ft, with combined energy of 248 (moderate wave energy). But the period is a weak 7 seconds – short-period windswell – and the wind is a stiff 22 mph cross-off. That’s clean but raw. Still, for an exposed reef like Fortress, 5 ft of short-period stuff with that much wind is pretty average. It’s possible for the keen, but not the standout you’d drive for.
After that, it sinks back to tiny stuff again until the very end of the outlook. On September 21st (Monday), we finally see something a little more interesting. The morning shows a 4 ft SSW swell, 6-second period, with combined energy of 101 (moderate wave energy). The wind is light offshore from the west at 9 mph, so it should be clean. This is the best we’ve got in the whole 16-day window. The swell direction (SSW) is a bit off the optimum SE direction that this reef likes, but an offshore wind and some waist-high waves mean a few workable sets for a patient surfer.
For the rest of the second week, it’s back to small, lumpy, or onshore conditions. Nothing to get excited about. Inconsistent is the name of the game here, and honestly, for Fortress that’s not unusual – when it’s flat, it’s flat.
Water temperature is average for this time of year, no anomaly to mention.
So, what’s the call? The morning of the 21st is the only real chance for a paddle. Get out then if you can. For the rest, it’s a waiting game.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastMostly dry. Warm (max 25°C on Mon night, min 20°C on Mon night). Winds increasing (calm on Tue night, strong winds from the SW by Wed night). | Days 5-7 Weather SummaryMostly dry. Warm (max 24°C on Thu night, min 17°C on Sat morning). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the SW on Thu night, light winds from the E by Sat morning). | ||||||||||||||||||
Tuesday 8 | Wednesday 9 | Thursday 10 | Friday 11 | Saturday 12 | Sunday 13 | ||||||||||||||
Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | E 9 | SE 9 | SSE 9 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SSW 6 | SSW 7 | SSW 7 | S 7 | S 7 | S 6 | S 6 | SE 9 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 9 | SE 9 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 7 | 6 | 3 | 8 | 4 | 15 | 230 | 236 | 197 | 94 | 43 | 30 | 20 | 14 | 14 | 15 | 34 | 31 | 29 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | off | off | cross-off | off | cross | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | cross | on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 6:12AM0.83m | 6:39PM0.98m | 7:03AM0.91m | 7:27PM0.99m | 7:50AM0.98m | 8:11PM0.98m | 8:33AM1.02m | 8:51PM0.95m | 9:14AM1.04m | 9:28PM0.91m | 9:53AM1.02m | 10:02PM0.85m | |||||||
Low Tide | 11:59PM0.04m | 11:51AM0.04m | 00:44AM-0.01m | 12:46PM-0.02m | 1:24AM-0.04m | 1:34PM-0.05m | 2:00AM-0.05m | 2:19PM-0.05m | 2:34AM-0.05m | 3:01PM-0.04m | 3:07AM-0.03m | 3:41PM0.01m | 3:38AM0.01m | ||||||
 |  | | | | |  | | | |  | | | | | | | | | |
 | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:20 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:22 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — | 6:24 | — | — |
 | 7:10 | — | 7:08 | — | — | 7:07 | — | — | 7:06 | — | — | 7:04 | — | — | 7:01 | — | — | 7:00 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 25 | 21 | 24 | 24 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 23 | 25 | 24 | 19 | 23 | 23 | 18 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 23 | 24 |
Feels °C | 21 | 18 | 21 | 20 | 22 | 21 | 19 | 19 | 23 | 22 | 14 | 20 | 18 | 17 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 25 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 9 | SSW 4 | SE 9 | SW 4 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 9 | SE 8 | SE 9 | S 7 | S 7 | S 6 | S 6 | SSW 6 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | S 5 | SSE 5 |
| kJ | 7 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 4 | 15 | 12 | 11 | 13 | 94 | 43 | 30 | 20 | 7 | 14 | 15 | 34 | 23 | 28 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 8 | SE 9 | E 9 | SSE 9 | SE 8 | E 9 | E 8 | E 8 | E 8 | ESE 10 | SE 10 | SE 10 | SE 9 | SSE 6 | SSE 6 | — | — | SE 9 | SE 9 |
| kJ | 3 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 9 | 15 | 15 | 3 | 7 | 4 | — | — | 31 | 29 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 5 | E 9 | — | E 9 | E 9 | — | — | — | — | SE 8 | — | — | SSE 6 | SE 9 | SSW 6 | — | — | — | SSW 5 |
| kJ | 1 | 6 | — | 2 | 2 | — | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | 4 | 14 | 3 | — | — | — | 11 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | SW 3 | — | SW 4 | SSW 5 | SSW 6 | SSW 7 | SSW 7 | NNW 3 | N 3 | — | — | — | — | S 3 | S 4 | — | — |
| kJ | — | — | 3 | — | 5 | 40 | 230 | 236 | 197 | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | 6 | 9 | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 394 | 451 | 803 | 585 | 636 | 1065 | 1065 | 185 | 237 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 15 | 808 | 803 | 383 | 275 | 219 | 0 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Long Island New York | |||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Fortress surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Fortress Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Fortress provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Fortress can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Fortress surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Fortress) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Fortress may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Fortress is 39 km (24 miles) from New London. If you plan a vacation in Long Island New York, look for hotels and other accommodation in New London. New London has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest