Ohara Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the table for the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, it's a pretty slow start. We're looking at a stretch of pretty ordinary conditions through the end of August and into the first few days of September. The first real chance of anything surfable doesn't show up until Wednesday, September 2nd, in the afternoon. The wind swings offshore from the SSE, cleaning things up, but the swell is weak – just 2ft from the ESE with a period of 10 seconds and combined energy of 184 (weak). It's surfable, but nothing to write home about.

Thursday the 3rd offers a couple of clean windows with cross-offshore winds, but the swell is mixed. The morning has a small 2ft easterly swell (141 energy), and the afternoon sees a bump to 4ft from the SSE, but that's a short-period 6-second swell (205 energy), so it'll be a bit lumpy and weak. Honestly, it's a tough call to get excited about.

From Friday the 4th through the first part of the following week, the wind turns onshore and the surf gets messy. The swell does start to build, but it's all short-period windswell, and the onshore winds are going to chop it up. By the 6th and 7th, we're seeing some solid swell energy – 7ft on the 6th afternoon (966 energy) and 8-8ft on the 7th (1050 to 2497 energy) – but the wind is still cross-onshore, keeping it pretty rough.

Now, here's the real standout, and it's a big one. Tuesday, September 8th, through Wednesday, September 9th, is shaping up to be the best window of the whole forecast. The swell is pumping – 10ft to 12ft from the ESE and SE, with periods hitting 12 to 13 seconds (groundswell). The combined energy is massive, between 3173 and 3576 (strong to very strong). The wind is light and offshore or light cross-shore, making for clean conditions. At Ohara, with that much swell and a long period, expect powerful, well-shaped waves. The flip side is that this is serious size – over 8ft, so this is expert territory only. It'll be big, clean, and powerful. If you're a confident surfer, this is the time to be in the water.

After that, it all goes to hell. From Thursday, September 10th, onward, the wind cranks up from the NNE, hitting 22 to 34 mph, and the swell is still big but completely blown out. The energy readings are still high (over 10,000 on the 10th morning), but it's a mess of cross-onshore and onshore winds. It's going to be lumpy, messy, and borderline dangerous for paddle surfing. Honestly, with that much swell and strong wind, it's looking more like a kite-surfing setup than a clean surf day.

Water temperature at Ohara is 82°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year – about 2°F above average, so you'll be comfortable in a shorty or boardies.

So, to sum it up: the first week is mostly a write-off. The real standout is Tuesday, September 8th, and Wednesday, September 9th, with big, clean groundswell at Ohara, but it's only for the experts. After that, the wind kills it.

Rusty out.

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