Piha-The Bar Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here with a look at the surf ahead for Piha-The-Bar. We’ve got some serious size on the cards, but you’ll need to pick your windows carefully. The water temps are running about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The first real action kicks off Tuesday morning, 15 September. We’re looking at a solid 8ft SW groundswell with a 14-second period, and a light 6 mph cross-off breeze from the SSW. It’s clean, and the wave energy is firing at 2356 (moderate to strong). This is excellent surf for experienced surfers only, as it’s well over the 8ft mark for the experts. This is a standout morning. The afternoon gets a bit bumpier as the wind swings onshore and the quality drops.

Wednesday the 16th is a write-off with onshore winds and choppy conditions. Thursday the 17th stays messy with poor onshore winds, though there’s some size.

Now, get ready for a big one. On Friday morning, 18 September, we see a 13ft SW groundswell arriving with a very long 16-second period from the SSW, but the wind is a fresh 22 mph cross-off. The combined energy is massive at 10767 (very strong). This is huge, powerful, and only for the well-prepared. By Friday afternoon, the swell jumps to 16ft from the SW, with a shorter period of 10 seconds and even stronger 25 mph cross-off winds. The energy is still huge at 4959, but that’s too big for this break and mostly for the experts. Still, it’s clean.

Saturday the 19th and Sunday the 20th are blown out with strong cross and cross-onshore winds and lumpy, messy seas. Even with 13-15ft swell, it’s poor.

Monday the 21st is slightly better in the morning with a 12ft WSW swell and a 12 mph cross breeze, but there’s a cross-chop making it marginal. Tuesday the 22nd has cleaner 13ft SW swell with cross-off winds again, but it’s still big and marginal.

Looking further out, Wednesday 23 September is the biggest of the run: a 20ft WSW swell with a 16-second period and a 22 mph cross-off. The combined energy is a staggering 18099 (very strong). This is absolutely massive, too big for the break and only for the most experienced riders. The Wednesday afternoon session is similar with an 18ft swell.

Thursday 24 September morning is a real standout. The swell drops to a still-chunky 13ft from the WSW with a 16-second period, but the wind is a light 12 mph cross-off from the SSW. The energy is strong at 7059, and the water is clean. This is the pick of the second week for experienced surfers. The afternoon gets messier again.

The final few days look cleaner. Friday 25 September morning has 8ft SW swell with a 14-second period and light 9 mph cross-off winds from the S. Clean and excellent for experienced surfers. Saturday 26 September morning is glassy with a 3 mph northerly breeze and a 7ft SW swell. That’s about as clean as it gets. The Sunday and Monday after that have onshore breezes that mess up the quality, but there’s still plenty of swell in the water, including a very long 20-second period swell on Monday 28 September afternoon.

Final call: The standout windows are Tuesday morning (15 September) for the first solid, clean swell, and Thursday morning (24 September) for the best combination of size, long period, and light offshore wind in the second week. Late Friday 25 September and Saturday 26 September morning are the cleanest, most accessible for the smaller to moderate swells.

Rusty out.

Read more