Port Orford Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, Rusty again. Let’s break down what Port Orford is looking like over the next couple of weeks.

It’s a slow start. The first few days of August are pretty average. Tuesday the 4th is a bust; you’ve got a 7ft swell from the NNW with a short 8-second period, and the water is sitting at 54°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year. The combined energy (590) is moderate, but the conditions are just marginal. The wind is a moderate offshore breeze, but it’s not enough to save it.

Wednesday the 5th is the first real chance to get wet. The morning sees a 6ft NNW swell with 8 seconds, and a moderate offshore breeze. The combined energy drops a bit to (491), but it’s still moderate. The afternoon is actually the pick of the first week: the swell drops to 5ft, the wind goes light and offshore, and the combined energy is (410). The report says "expect good surf conditions," and that’s about as good as it gets here for a while. It’s not a standout, but it’s the best on offer before the week closes out.

From Thursday the 6th all the way through to Monday the 17th of August, it’s a long, grim stretch. The swell sticks around, mostly 5ft to 7ft, but the wind is fresh to strong from the north, and the combined energy bounces between weak (23) and moderate (691). The quality is consistently poor or marginal. There are a few moments where the swell gets up to 7ft, but with a 6-second period and a fresh breeze, it’s just messy and tough. Honestly, for a beach setup like Port Orford, with that kind of wind and short-period swell, it looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

The only real standout in the whole 16-day window is Sunday the 16th of August. That morning, you’ve got a 6ft NNW swell with an 8-second period, a moderate offshore breeze, and the combined energy is a solid (537). The report says "expect good surf conditions." It’s not huge, but it’s clean, and that’s a rare thing in this outlook. The afternoon sees a slightly bigger 6ft swell, but the energy jumps to (667) and the wind stays moderate offshore. That morning session is the one to circle on the calendar. The crowd profile says "often," so expect some company, but for a clean, offshore day in Port Orford, it’s worth it.

After that, the 17th and 18th of August are a write-off with cross-onshore winds, and the swell fades to nothing by the 19th. So, a couple of decent windows early on and that one promising Sunday, but overall, it’s a lean run. Keep an eye on the forecasts, though – it tends not to stay poor for long around here.

Rusty.

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