Noorderstrand Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s run through this again, but in feet and miles.

Honestly, I gotta be straight with you—this is a tough run. The forecast is a long stretch of pretty ordinary conditions, with only a couple of tiny windows that might be worth a paddle. We’re looking at Noorderstrand, and it’s a real mixed bag of wind and swell that just doesn’t want to line up.

The water is running at 69°F with a big anomaly of 5°F warmer than the long-term average, so it’s much warmer than usual for this time of year. That’s a notable plus if you’re in the water.

For the first week, from Sunday the 30th of August right through to the 12th of September, it’s basically a write-off. Every single session is flagged as "poor surf conditions." The wind is mostly cross or cross-onshore, and often strong, with speeds up to 25 mph or even 31 mph. The swell is all short-period windswell, mostly under 8 seconds, and the combined energy is weak to moderate—we’re talking values like 59, 332, 268, all poor. The wave comment is a flat “poor surf conditions” every time. There’s a big gap of about two weeks with no real surf on offer.

The only two windows that break the pattern come right at the tail end of the forecast. On the morning of Sunday the 13th of September, we get a bit of a reprieve. The wind swings light from the south, giving us a clean cross-off breeze, and the swell is 3 ft from the NNW with a 7-second period. The combined energy is 88, weak, but the wave comment finally says “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” It’s not a standout, but it’s the best we’ve seen in a fortnight.

Then, on Monday the 14th of September, there’s a brief glimmer. The morning has a light offshore from the ESE, with the swell at 5 ft from the NNW and a 6-second period. Combined energy is 164 (moderate), and the wave comment is “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions.” But the real bright spot is Monday afternoon. We get a light cross-off breeze from the south, swell from the NW at 5 ft with a 7-second period, combined energy of 211 (moderate), and the wave comment is “expect good surf conditions.” The wind is clean, the swell is a little bigger, and it’s the only time in the whole outlook that looks genuinely promising.

If you’re a beginner, the swell is under 5 ft, so it’s manageable, but the quality is poor overall. For the few clean windows, the short period means the waves won’t have much grunt. Noorderstrand is a beach setup, so with the chop and wind, it’s more likely to be interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing during the windy, messy days.

Take the Monday 14th afternoon as your best bet—a promising but isolated window. The rest of the forecast is a long, blank run.

Rusty.

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