Norries Head Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, I’m Rusty. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for Norries Head (point). Water temp is sitting around 68°, which is totally normal for this time of year—nothing out of the ordinary there.

To be honest, the next ten days or so look pretty grim. We’ve got a big gap of flat, ordinary conditions until we finally see something worth getting excited about. From Wednesday 19 August right through to the end of the month, the swell is mostly small, weak, and onshore—periods are short, energy is low (values like 604 down to 50), and the wind is rarely doing us any favours. There’s a few moments where it cleans up, like Friday 21 August morning with a light cross-off breeze and clean 3ft swell from ENE, but it’s small and inconsistent. Saturday 22 August morning is similar with 3ft. Sunday 23 August morning actually goes glassy, but the swell is only 3ft and short period from ENE, so it’s barely worth paddling out. There’s nothing with any push or shape.

Then we hit a real dry spell. From Monday 24 August through to Monday 31 August, it’s mostly poor surf conditions—wind onshore or cross-on, tiny waves, and energy barely above 100. Nothing to get out of bed for.

Now, here’s the standout—and it’s a long way off, so keep an eye on it. On Tuesday 1 September, we get a proper pulse of energy: a long-period groundswell from SE at 14 seconds, with swell height around 5ft and combined energy hitting 842 (moderate to strong). The problem is, the wind is cross-on from ESE at 9 mph, so it’ll be a bit choppy. Still, it’s the biggest and most powerful swell in the whole forecast. The swell direction (SE) is not quite the optimum NE for Norries Head, but that long period will wrap in nicely. Wednesday 2 September morning is even better—the swell drops to 3ft but the period is still 13 seconds, and the wind goes glassy. That’s the pick of the whole outlook: clean, glassy conditions with a solid groundswell from SE. Energy is 480 (moderate). It’s a rare window of quality.

After that, Thursday 3 September morning has another 4ft SE swell with 12-second period, but cross-on wind holds it back. The afternoon fades again.

So, bottom line: the first week and a half is a write-off. The best surf in the whole 16 days is on Wednesday 2 September morning—glassy, clean, and a nice long-period groundswell. Tuesday 1 September is also worth a look if you can handle a bit of chop. For a spot that’s inconsistent at the best of times, this is a typical blank run, but that little window of goodness is worth waiting for.

Rusty.

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