Ormond Beach Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let's break this down. I'm looking at the forecast for Ormond Beach Pier. It’s a classic beach/pier setup, exposed to whatever ENE swell rolls in, but honestly, the next two weeks look pretty dire for anything worth paddling out for.

Right from the get-go, starting Sunday the 23rd through to the end of the month, it’s pretty much flat. We’re talking dribbly little 0.7 ft to 1 ft waves, mostly from the east, with periods all over the place but never delivering any punch. The combined swell energy is weak, consistently below 100, often between 18 and 60. There’s simply no power. The water temperature is sitting at around 84°, which is about normal for this time of year. You get the odd morning with a light offshore or even glassy conditions, like Tuesday the 25th morning or Saturday the 29th morning, but it’s on waves that barely lap at your ankles. Not worth the drive.

We roll into the first week of September, and things start to look a tiny bit more promising, but only just. Monday the 31st of August sees a pulse of longer-period swell, 19 seconds, coming out of the east, with the energy jumping to 63 in the morning. By the afternoon the energy hits 102, which is now in the moderate range. The wind, however, is onshore and choppy, ruining any real shape. The swell height is still only 1.0 ft, so even with that long period, it’s just not wrapping up or standing up on a beach break.

Then we get a couple of mornings that are a bit special. On Tuesday the 1st of September, the morning is glassy, with a 1 ft east swell at 15 seconds. The combined energy is 91. It’s just about surfable, but very ordinary. Then Wednesday the 2nd of September morning is also glassy, with 2 ft at 13 seconds and energy at 99. Again, very ordinary. The wind is light and variable, so the surface is clean, but the waves are weak and fat.

The real standout, if you can call it one, comes on Thursday the 3rd of September morning. The swell bumps up to 3 ft from the east, with a period of 12 seconds. The combined energy hits 169, which is the highest in the whole 16-day window. The wind is a light offshore from the south, so it’s clean. It’s glassy and the sets might actually have a bit of push. For a beach break, a 12-second period from the east is okay, but it’s not going to carve out perfect barrels. Still, this is the best on offer. It’s an intermediate-level wave with that 3 ft size, but it’s a long way from epic.

Friday the 4th morning is glassy again with 2 ft east swell and energy at 198, but the wind is a light cross-onshore, so it gets messy. After that, it drops back to smaller, weaker surf through the rest of the second week, with the wind often swinging onshore in the afternoons. The 16-day window has a massive gap of “poor surf” for the first week and a half. The window basically offers only a handful of mornings where it’s worth a look, with Thursday the 3rd being the pick of the litter. Don’t expect any crowds for this one, as there’s very little to get excited about.

Rusty.

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