Mooloolaba Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get this out. It’s Rusty, and I’m looking at the Mooloolaba stretch.

Look, I’m gonna be straight with you – the next 16 days are a bit of a flat spell for Mooloolaba. There’s no real standout session to get excited about. The finder is turning up nothing but zeros and ones, and the guidance confirms it’s an inconsistent spot that’s rarely working well. We’ve got a long gap of poor to ordinary surf with no real highlights. Let’s walk through it.

The water is sitting at 68°, which is about a degree and a half colder than normal for this time of year – you’ll feel that chill on the morning paddle.

Sunday the 23rd is a write-off. Clear skies, but a light ESE breeze is making it cross-shore, and the swell is a weak 3 ft from the ENE at a short 8 seconds. The combined energy is only 94, so barely a ripple. Poor surf.

Monday the 24th has a tiny window. Morning shows a 3 ft, 7-second ENE swell with a light SE breeze making it cross-offshore and clean. Combined energy is 118 (moderate). It’s surfable but very ordinary. By afternoon, the wind picks up and it’s back to poor.

Tuesday the 25th morning offers a glassy 3 ft ENE swell from the NE with zero wind. Clean, but tiny. Energy is 116. It’s a real knee-slapper. Afternoon goes cross-onshore and choppy – no good.

Wednesday the 26th morning is glassy again with light rain and a 4 ft ENE swell at 7 seconds. Energy 127. Surfable but ordinary. The wind shifts NE in the afternoon and ruins it.

Thursday the 27th through the end of August sees a consistent pattern: clean conditions from the SSE/SE with cross-offshore winds, but the swell is stuck between 3 ft and 4 ft, short period, and the energy gets up to 199 by Thursday morning. It’s clean, but the waves are weak and uninteresting. The guidance says “poor surf conditions” the whole way.

Saturday the 30th morning has a 3 ft, 10-second E swell with 12 mph SE winds – clean, but the energy is 193 (moderate). The period is a bit longer, but the size is still small and the wind is a bit strong for a tidy wave.

Now, Monday the 31st morning bumps up to 5 ft from the east at 7 seconds. Energy hits 214 (moderate). That’s the biggest swell in the window. But it’s short period, and with a 9 mph cross-offshore breeze, it’s clean but messy. For a beginner spot, this is getting too big, and the short period means it’ll be crumbly. Still, it’s the best we’ve got.

From September 1st onward, the swell fades fast. Tuesday the 1st morning is clean but 4 ft, and by Wednesday the 2nd morning we’re back to glassy 3 ft. Energy drops. The last few days of the forecast are a sad decline to 1 ft with barely any energy – 31 to 40. It’s a flat finish.

Honestly, if you’re paddling out, Monday the 31st morning is your best shot, but don’t expect much. The rest is a long stretch of small, weak, and ordinary. This is pretty normal for the area when the swell goes quiet, so don’t get too down – forecasts can change.

Rusty.

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