Padang Padang Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s take a look at what’s shaping up for Padang Padang over the next couple of weeks. This is a world-class reef break and it's known for being inconsistent, so when it turns on, you’d better be ready. The water temp is about average for this time of year.

We’ve got a solid run of surf coming. The weekend of the 29th of August kicks things off with clean conditions. Saturday morning, the swell is a touch over 6 ft from the SSW with a long 15-second period, making for some seriously energy-packed lines (combined energy of 1552). That’s moderate to strong wave energy. The wind is light offshore from the SSE at 3 mph, so expect glassy, clean waves. This is excellent for experienced surfers – the size and power mean it's not for beginners. By Saturday afternoon, the swell drops a bit to 4 ft, still clean, but the wind picks up to 12 mph from the SE. Still offshore, so the quality holds.

Sunday the 30th sees a similar story. Morning surf around 5 ft from the SSW, period dropping to 13 seconds, but the wind is a steady 16 mph offshore from the ESE. The energy is still solid (925). It’s clean and rippable all day.

Now, Monday the 31st is interesting. The morning is a bit messy with cross-offshore wind, but the swell is a long 18-second period groundswell at 4 ft. That long period means the waves will have heaps of energy (1420) but can be a bit straight at a beach break – however, on a reef like Padang Padang, it’s a thing of beauty. The afternoon is the standout for Monday: the wind swings back to straight offshore from the SE at 16 mph, the swell bumps up to 6 ft from the SSW, still with that 18-second period, and the combined energy jumps to 1892. This is excellent for experienced surfers.

Tuesday the 1st of September and Wednesday the 2nd keep the goods coming, but with a caveat. Tuesday has a bigger 7 ft SSW swell, but the wind is cross-offshore in the morning and a fresh 19 mph offshore in the afternoon. The waves will be big and powerful. Wednesday is where I see one of the best windows: both morning and afternoon have clean 6-6 ft SW swell with a 16-second period and straight offshore wind at 16 mph. The energy is strong (1970 in the morning). This is prime.

The rest of the first week continues with solid, clean surf, though the swell ebbs and flows a bit. Thursday the 3rd has a smaller 5 ft SW swell in the morning but still clean.

Let’s jump ahead. The second week, starting around Saturday the 5th of September, looks promising but a bit less certain. The morning of the 5th has 6 ft SSW swell with light 9 mph offshore wind – very clean and fun. The real standout of the second week looks like Monday the 7th of September. The morning brings a chunky 8 ft SSW swell with a 14-second period, and it’s clean with 12 mph offshore wind. The combined energy is a strong 2220. This is big, powerful surf for experts only. The afternoon stays excellent at 7 ft.

Things get interesting again around Wednesday the 9th and Thursday the 10th, with more excellent 5-6 ft SSW swell and clean offshore winds. The period for the 10th is a nice 16-17 seconds.

However, be aware that from Friday the 11th through to Sunday the 13th of September, the wind ramps up to a fresh 19 mph from the ESE – still offshore, but it’s a strong breeze. The swell also gets serious, with the 13th seeing 8 ft from the SW. The combined energy on the 12th afternoon hits a massive 3920, and the 13th morning is 2996 – that’s very strong wave energy. While it’s still offshore, that much wind and that much swell can make for challenging, blown-out conditions even if it’s offshore. It’s expert territory and could be a bit of a handful.

So, overall, the best on offer is the window from Wednesday the 2nd of September through to Wednesday the 9th of September, with the absolute standouts being Wednesday the 2nd (for perfect conditions) and Monday the 7th (for the big, powerful groundswell). Get on it.

Rusty.

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