Palm Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what Palm Beach has got cooking for us over the next couple of weeks.

Straight up, it’s not a classic run. The first week and a half is going to be a real mixed bag of small, onshore junk. There’s no real standout, but we’ll dig through the rubble and find a couple of sessions that are worth paddling out for.

The water temp is sitting at 64°F which is pretty much bang on for this time of year, so no surprises there.

We kick off on Tuesday the 1st. Not much to write home about. We’ve got waist-high swell around 3 ft from the South with an 11-second period, which gives it a bit of shape, but it’s a light cross-shore wind. The energy is weak (222), and overall it's just ordinary. The afternoon goes cross-off, but it’s even smaller.

Wednesday the 2nd and Thursday the 3rd are really small—stuff around knee to thigh-high. The wind improves to cross-off and even offshore on Thursday arvo, but with next to no swell, there’s nothing to surf. Expect a real flat spell through here.

Friday the 4th morning sees a tiny bump back to 3 ft from the south, but a cross-shore wind and questionable tides mean it’s still a marginal call. The energy is moderate (233), but it’s not going to be worth fighting for.

The weekend is a write-off. Saturday has 19 mph offshore winds which just kill the tiny swell. Sunday the 6th has a 4 ft south swell with a nice 12-second period and 461 units of energy, but it’s a cross-onshore breeze, so it’ll be chopped up. The week starts flat again on Monday.

Now, the first real standout comes on Tuesday the 8th of September. We get a pulse of 6 ft from the Northeast, but the period is short at 8 seconds and the energy is getting strong (635). The wind is a light cross-shore in the morning, which keeps things clean. It’s a beach break, and with that short period, it won’t be the best shape, but it’s the first proper surfable size in a week.

Wednesday the 9th is messy—strong S/SSW winds and rain chop things up, even though there’s some size.

Then we hit the big stuff. Thursday the 10th into Friday the 11th, the swell absolutely jacks up to 10 ft, 12 ft, even 16 ft with a 13-second period. The combined energy readings are massive (2604, 4552, and 13657). But this is too big for Palm Beach. It’s an exposed beach, so this is strictly for expert chargers only, and honestly, the wind is cross or cross-off, but it’s going to be a washing machine. This is more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

After the chaos, things settle. The best bet of the whole outlook is Sunday the 13th of September. The swell drops to a clean 4 ft from the Southeast (10 sec, 495 energy) with a light cross-off SSW breeze in the morning. Clean, waist-to-chest high, and manageable. Good luck getting a parking spot—crowds are *sometimes* a thing here, so get there early.

Monday the 14th is also a winner if you can get out early. The morning is glassy with a 4 ft SE swell. That’s a rare moment of perfection. Get in the water before the onshore kicks in. After that, Tuesday the 15th has a clean little 3 ft cross-off morning, but it’s fading.

The last few days into the 16th drop off again with small, choppy conditions.

So for the good stuff: Sunday 13th morning and Monday 14th morning are your windows. The Sunday has the better swell size, but the Monday has that absolute glassy surface. Pick your poison. The rest of the run is average at best.

Rusty.

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