Foz do Arelho Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s talk Foz do Arelho in feet and miles per hour. Rusty here, and I’ll keep it honest—this break is going through a rough patch for most of the forecast, with only a couple of mornings worth getting out of bed for.

For the first five days through Friday the 14th, it’s basically a write-off. Swell is tiny—2 to 4 ft—with super short periods (6 to 8 seconds), and a nasty cross-onshore breeze out of the N or NNW at 12-16 mph. Choppy, weak, not your friend. The combined wave energy starts at 94 (weak) and barely even warms up. Don’t bother.

Saturday the 15th sees the swell push up to about 6 ft, but the wind stays onshore or funky, and while the energy climbs to 519 (strong), the quality is marginal at best.

Sunday the 16th of August is where the magic tries to happen. Early morning, the wind drops—just 3 mph out of the east, cross-offshore—clean as a whistle. Swell is 6 ft from the NNW with a 9-second period, energy at 517 (strong). This is the standout session. Water temp is nothing weird, just about average. For beginners, that 6 ft is getting into chunky territory, but for everyone else, it’s the call. Just know this spot is inconsistent, so it might not be perfect, and you could see a few other heads out there.

By afternoon the wind swings west-northwest and goes cross-onshore, messing up the surface.

The rest of the second week (17th to 24th) is mostly a bust. A few small clean-ish moments on Wednesday the 19th with a 3 ft swell and cross-offshore wind, but the energy is low (135—weak). Not much to get excited about.

Then, Tuesday the 25th of August—big one in the morning. Glassy, flat calm out of the SSE. Swell hits 7 ft from the NW with a 10-second period, and the combined energy is 842 (very strong). That’s serious grunt. Clean, no wind, 7 ft—this is for experienced surfers only. The longish period (10 seconds) may make the beach break a bit straight and dumpy, but it’s the second true standout of the whole outlook.

Bottom line: Two clean windows to capitalize on—Sunday the 16th morning and Tuesday the 25th morning. Everything else is either too small, too windy, or too messy. The inconsistent nature here is just part of the deal—when it’s on, it’s on, but you gotta wait.

Rusty.

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