Panoramas Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next couple of weeks at Panoramas are not going to have you scrambling for your board. It’s a lean stretch, plain and simple. The swell stays small and the wind mostly messes with what little wave energy there is. We’re looking at a long gap with barely anything worth paddling out for.

Right at the start, Sunday the 16th has a touch of swell – 3ft from the northwest with a period of 8 seconds – but the cross-onshore breeze chops it up. Water temp is sitting at 72°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so you won’t need the thick rubber. But the surf itself is a write-off.

Monday the 17th morning is your first tiny glimmer. The swell drops to 2ft from the northwest, still 8 seconds, but the wind goes glassy. It’s small and weak – the combined energy is only 59 – and honestly, it’s more about getting wet than getting waves. Monday afternoon turns poor again. Tuesday the 18th morning is the same story: glassy but even smaller at 2ft, energy down to 36. You’d be hunting for little ankle-biters.

We then hit a proper dead zone. From Tuesday afternoon through to Thursday the 20th, it’s all poor surf conditions, with the swell dropping to 0.7ft on Thursday morning. The energy readings are pathetic – single digits and low teens. There’s nothing doing. Friday the 21st morning brings a slight bump back to 2ft, glassy again, but it’s still just “surfable” in the loosest sense.

Then things get a bit more interesting, but not necessarily better. Friday the 21st afternoon, the swell jumps to 5ft from the northwest with a period of 7 seconds, and the combined energy hits 211 – that’s moderate. But the wind swings cross-shore at 12 mph, and the conditions turn into a choppy mess. That’s not surf for you; that looks more like a kite session.

Saturday the 22nd morning cleans up again – glassy with a 3ft northwest swell, energy at 97. Still small, still weak, but at least it’s clean. Saturday afternoon gets messy again. We see another pulse of northwest swell around the 24th, with the height reaching 5ft on Monday afternoon and the energy climbing to 221. But again, the wind is cross-onshore and the quality is poor. It’s not going to be worth the paddle.

After that, from the 25th through the end of the month, the swell fades back to under 3ft and the wind stays mostly cross or cross-on. There are some glassy mornings – the 27th and the 29th, for example – but the waves are just too small to get excited about. We’re talking 1ft to 2ft, with energy readings in the 20s to 60s. None of it is going to offer a proper wave.

So, the honest call here is that there are no standouts in this 16-day window. It’s a blank run, and for this area, that’s not entirely unusual when the swell direction is stuck in the northwest and the wind keeps coming from the wrong angles. The conditions are just not lining up. It’s one of those times you might be better off doing something else, because the surf is going to be frustratingly small and mostly junky. Keep an eye on the charts, because it can change, but right now, I’d leave the board in the car.

Rusty.

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