Norries Head Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on offer at Norries Head. To be straight with you, this is a tough run. The next couple of weeks are mostly a write-off for decent waves. We’re looking at a lot of days with small, messy, or onshore conditions, with only a little window of something rideable late in the first week and into the start of the second. Don’t get your hopes too high, but there is a day or two worth keeping an eye on.

Norries Head is an exposed point that works best with swell from the NE. It’s an inconsistent break, so it takes a fair bit of oomph to get it going, and when it does, you can expect the crowds to be around. Water temp is sitting right on average for this time of year at 70°F.

The first few days are junk. Sunday the 13th and Monday the 14th are all small, choppy, and cross-onshore – not worth paddling out. Tuesday the 15th is clean with a light cross-offshore breeze, but the swell is tiny, around 2 ft from the east with a short 6-second period and very weak energy (26). It’s flat.

Wednesday the 16th and Thursday the 17th get a bit of a bump from the south, but the wind is strong and cross-onshore, making it lumpy and poor. Nothing doing.

Then we get to the best of what’s on offer. Friday the 18th afternoon sees the most interesting conditions. The swell jumps to 8 ft from the southeast, period 10 seconds, with a moderate cross-onshore breeze. The combined energy is a strong 1208 – that’s real power, but the wind will chop it up. Still, it might offer a few for the experienced crew looking for something solid. Saturday the 19th is a bit smaller, with the swell dropping to 6 ft and 6 ft from the southeast, and lighter cross-shore winds. The energy drops to 873 and then 623, so still moderate to strong, but cleaner. These two days are the standout, even if the conditions are only marginal. For the point, the swell is coming from the SE, which is not its ideal NE direction, so it won’t be perfect, but when a 8 ft swell hits an inconsistent spot, you take what you can get. Beginners should sit this one out – that’s too much size.

Sunday the 20th goes clean again with a light cross-offshore, but the swell has dropped right back to 3 ft and the energy is weak (160). It’s surfable but very ordinary.

From Monday the 21st right through to Monday the 28th, it’s back to tiny, wind-affected slop. There are a couple of clean mornings with cross-offshore winds, like the 24th, 25th, and 26th, but the swell is barely scraping 3 ft to 3 ft with super short periods (7 seconds) and next to no energy. Only on the 28th morning do we see the words “surfable waves” again, with a 3 ft swell and clean conditions, but it’s still weak.

So the honest verdict: the only real chance for a decent session is Friday afternoon the 18th and Saturday the 19th, and even then it’s a bit rough. For the rest, you’re better off waiting for another forecast cycle. This is one of those stretches where an inconsistent spot like Norries Head lives up to its name. It tends not to stay this flat for long, so keep watching.

Rusty.

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