Mooloolaba Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next couple of weeks around Mooloolaba are not shaping up to be a classic winter stretch. We’ve got a window of small, ordinary waves at the start, a little bump of energy mid-period that gets messy, and then a more promising pulse of swell further out that’s worth keeping an eye on, even if it’s still a gamble. The water temp is sitting at 69°F, which is just about normal for this time of year—nothing weird going on there.

First up, Saturday the 8th. It’s surfable but nothing to write home about. Early morning you’ll find some clean little 3ft waves from the ENE with an 8-second period, and a light cross-offshore breeze. There’s only weak energy in the water (112), so you’ll be working for every ride. The afternoon drops to 2ft, and while it stays clean, it’s pretty marginal.

Sunday the 9th is your best bet of this first stretch. The morning is glassy—zero wind—and the swell bumps up slightly to 3ft from the east with a 9-second period. It’s still small, but the clean, glassy surface will make it feel better than it looks. Energy is moderate (202). The afternoon gets ruined by a NE onshore breeze, so make your move early.

Monday the 10th and Tuesday the 11th are pretty poor. Monday has some cross-onshore chop with only 3ft on tap, and Tuesday drops back to 2ft with a cross-on breeze again. Nothing worth paddling out for.

From Wednesday the 12th through Saturday the 15th, it’s a slow grind. Swell drops to 2ft to 2ft, the period is short, and while the winds are mostly cross-offshore or offshore, there’s just no power in the water. Energy levels are weak (53 to 130). You’re really just looking at dribblers.

Now, here’s where it gets a bit more interesting. From Monday the 17th, the swell starts to build. Monday afternoon sees 5ft from the east with a 7-second period, and energy is ramping up to 237. But the wind is a solid 25 km/h cross-offshore, which is going to make it tricky. By Tuesday the 18th, we’ve got 6ft and the energy is climbing (340-355). Still, the wind is howling, so it’s going to be lumpy and hard to manage.

The real standout in this whole forecast is Wednesday morning, the 19th. That’s when we see the biggest pulse: 6ft of east swell with a 9-second period, and the combined energy jumps way up to 946—that’s strong, powerful stuff. The wind is a cross-offshore 25 km/h, which is not ideal, but it’s clean. This is the biggest, most energetic swell of the period, but with that size and the breeze, it’s not for beginners. This is more of a challenge for experienced surfers. The afternoon of the 19th drops back to 4ft and the energy fades.

After that, it’s a steady fade. Thursday the 20th has 3ft, and the rest of the week into the 23rd just peters out to 2ft with weak energy. A few showers and thunderstorms are possible around the 16th and 19th, but nothing that looks like it’ll help.

So, bottom line: if you’re keen, get out Sunday morning the 9th for a clean, fun little wave. But if you want size and power, keep your eyes on Wednesday morning the 19th. That’s the one day where the ocean has some serious grunt behind it, though it’ll test you. The rest is pretty quiet. This is Mooloolaba, and it’s a beach and reef setup, so those long-period groundswells aren’t really its thing, but this is more about the short-period windswell. It’s a waiting game.

Rusty out.

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