Jarosite Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. We’re looking at a solid run of swell for Jarosite Reef coming up, but it’s not all smooth sailing. This is an advanced reef break, so you need to know what you’re doing out there.

The core of this forecast is a long-period groundswell from the southwest that’s going to power through the middle of the coming week. We’re talking about a deep, energetic pulse with a 16-second period, building to a head height of about 7ft. The water’s sitting at 56°, which is pretty standard for this time of year, so nothing out of the ordinary on that front.

The action really kicks off on Wednesday the 12th with a 5ft SW swell. The wind is a cross-off, but it’s a bit punchy at 15 mph, so it’ll be a bit textured. The real standouts start showing up on Friday the 14th. You’ve got a 7ft SW groundswell (16 seconds) with a moderate 9 mph cross-off breeze. The combined energy is pumping at 2148 (moderate to strong), and the commentary is calling it excellent for experienced surfers. This is probably your best call for the first week, with the most grunt and the cleanest conditions before the wind shifts.

Then, hold onto your boardshorts for Saturday morning the 15th. We’ve got a 6ft SW swell, but the magic is the wind: glassy, with the SSE blowing at just 3 mph. It doesn’t get much cleaner than that for a reef break, and the energy is still healthy at 1306. That’s a real gem to aim for.

After Saturday afternoon, the swell starts to drop off steadily, and we hit a real lull. From Sunday the 16th through to Saturday the 22nd, the wave heights tumble to between 2ft and 4ft. The energy readings are weak, mostly below 500. For a wave-starved surfer, it's just not going to be worth the paddle out unless you’re on a log and very patient. There’s almost a full week of lean pickings here.

But don’t write this run off just yet. Looking further ahead into the second week, there’s a promising new pulse pushing in. On Monday the 24th of August, the swell picks back up to 6ft, and by the afternoon it hits 8ft. That’s proper size. The catch is the wind is cross-onshore from the ESE, which will mess with the surface. For a reef break at that size, it might end up being more suited to kites than paddles, to be honest.

If you can wait, the window on Tuesday the 25th of August looks better. The swell holds at around 7ft, and the wind swings to a clean cross-off from the north at 12 mph. The energy is back up to 1980. Then, Wednesday the 26th serves up a 4ft swell with a moderate offshore breeze from the NNW. It’s smaller, but glassy and clean.

Overall: the clear winner is Friday the 14th and Saturday morning the 15th. The rest is a waiting game.

Rusty.

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