Newport-South Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s break down the next couple of weeks for Newport-South Beach.

The first few days are a bit of a bust. Tuesday the 8th of September kicks off with a tiny 0.5m swell from the SW, 13-second period, but the wind is cross-shore and the energy is weak at 164. Not worth grabbing your board. The afternoon gets a jump to 1.6m, but it’s a short-period 6-second wind swell from the NNW with 25 km/h cross-shore winds – a choppy mess. Wednesday and Thursday are more of the same: cross-shore winds, marginal conditions, and wave heights from 1.3m to 1.5m. The energy is moderate, ranging from 307 to 897.

Friday the 11th offers a bit of a pulse with 1.7m to 1.8m from the NW (9-second period), and the combined energy hits 943 – moderate wave energy – but it’s still cross-shore, so no real clean lines.

Here’s the bright spot. Saturday morning, the 12th of September. The wind goes glassy, 5 km/h from the SW, and we’ve got 1.3m of swell from the NW with a 10-second period. The energy is decent at 629. This is the best of the first week. The water temperature is 14°, which is only about half a degree cooler than average for this time of year, so nothing crazy. Expect glassy conditions and clean waves. The beach is the setup, so it should be fun on the sandbars. Crowds are sometimes a thing here, so paddle out early.

Sunday the 13th is also glassy, with 5 km/h NW wind and 0.8m of SW swell, but it’s a long-period 14-second groundswell (483 energy). It’ll be clean, but the long period might make it a bit walled-up on the beach.

After that, Monday through the end of the week is a lull. Swell drops to 0.4m to 0.6m with light winds, but the energy is low (247 to 500). Marginal conditions with cross-on or onshore winds.

Then the big one hits. The 22nd of September, Tuesday morning. The forecast shows a 1.8m WNW swell with a 14-second period, and the combined energy explodes to 1945 – strong wave energy. Light cross-shore wind from the N at 10 km/h. This is a serious groundswell, and it’s clean. But Tuesday afternoon pushes the swell to 3.0m from the WNW at 13 seconds, with a massive 3201 energy – very strong. The wind is cross-shore at 20 km/h from the NNW. For a beach break, this is too big for everyone except experts. The long period means it’ll be heavy and straight on the sand. If you know the bank, it could be a wild ride, but it’s not for beginners.

The 23rd of September, Wednesday, drops to 2.3m and 2.0m from the WNW with 12-second period, still strong energy (1740 to 1320), but the wind is cross-shore again. More marginal.

So, the standout is the Saturday the 12th morning – glassy, 1.3m, clean. And the Tuesday the 22nd morning is a big, powerful groundswell for the experts, but it’s a long way out, so keep an eye on it.

Signing off, Rusty.

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