Mooloolaba Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a proper look at what’s cookin’ at Mooloolaba over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, mate, we’re dealin’ with a pretty flat and ordinary stretch. The surf’s gonna be small and pretty uninspiring for the most part. There’s no real standout swell event here, just a long run of tiny, weak waves. For the first week, from the 21st of August right through to the 27th, you’re lookin’ at knee-to-waist high stuff, mostly around 0.8 ft to 1.0 ft. The energy is weak to moderate, with combined swell energy sittin’ between 86 and 145 for most of that time. That’s just not enough to get excited about. The water temp is sittin’ at 68 °F, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year – you’ll feel that chill on the paddle out.

The one bit of light in the tunnel is Thursday morning, the 27th of August. The swell bumps up to 2 ft from the ENE with a moderate energy reading of 443 and a clean cross-off breeze from the SSE. That’s the best on offer for the whole outlook period. It’s still not a huge swell, but for Mooloolaba, that’s about as good as it gets in this window. You’ll want to be a competent surfer though – 2 ft can be a bit much for a beginner, especially with the short 8-second period.

After that, it drops off again. The last week of August and the start of September is a real struggle. From the 28th of August all the way through to the 5th of September, we’re lookin’ at mostly 0.7 ft to 1.0 ft waves, with occasional bump to 1 ft or 2 ft, but the wind and conditions are poor. There’s a lot of cross-shore and onshore wind, and the scores for those sessions are flat-out zero or one. The energy stays low too, mostly between 92 and 175 for those days.

A little highlight on the 2nd of September – the afternoon session shows a 1 ft swell from the East with a longer 10-second period and energy of 284. The wind is light cross-shore, so it’s not a complete write-off, but it’s still pretty marginal. Then the 3rd of September has a glassy morning with a 1 ft East swell, 10-second period, and 235 energy. That’s clean, but the swell direction is ENE, not the optimum NE that Mooloolaba loves, so it won’t be lined up perfectly. Still, glassy conditions are a major positive for getting a few fun ones.

Overall, Mooloolaba is inconsistent and rarely breaks well. This forecast is a long run of poor to ordinary conditions. There’s no proper swell on the horizon, so if you’re itchin’ for a wave, Thursday the 27th is your best bet – just don’t expect anything world class. The rest of the time, it’s more of a paddle and a hope than a proper surf.

Rusty.

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