Port Orford Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s run through what Port Orford’s got lined up over the next couple weeks. It’s a mixed bag – there’s decent sized swell rolling in, but the northerly winds are gonna be a constant factor, keeping things a bit rough around the edges. The water’s sitting at about 54°F right now, which is a touch colder than average for this time of year, so you’ll want a good wetsuit.

We start off Wednesday the 29th with small, rideable waves around 4 ft from the WNW, with a moderate offshore breeze. The combined energy (176) is weak, and the sets are short at 9 seconds, so it’s more of a paddle than a session. Thursday the 30th holds similar in the morning (4 ft, NW, 149 energy) but drops off hard by afternoon to just 2 ft. Friday the 31st and Saturday the 1st of August keep small WNW swell (3 ft) with weak energy readings (124 and 116 in the mornings). Winds stay offshore and clean, but the waves are pretty ordinary – nothin’ to write home about.

Sunday the 2nd of August brings a bump to 4 ft in the morning with moderate energy (330), and by afternoon we’re at 5 ft with 470 energy. The offshore wind freshens to 18 to 22 mph, so it’s clean but you’ll be battling a stiff headwind. Quality is poor to marginal at best.

Here’s the standout: from Monday the 5th of August through Friday the 9th of August, we’ve got a solid pulse of NNW groundswell. The best of it is Thursday the 6th of August – morning sees 8 ft from the NNW, with a 10-second period and a strong combined energy reading of 1355. The afternoon is even bigger at 8 ft and 1412 energy. This is proper heavy, clean, offshore conditions (N wind 18 mph), but it’s expert-only terrain – well over the 8 ft mark, so beginners and intermediates should sit this one out. The long-period groundswell will stand up nicely at Port Orford, but it’s gonna be raw and demanding. The wind stays offshore all week, but constant N winds will put a bit of texture on the wave face.

The swell eases from Sunday the 9th of August, with 6 ft to 6 ft from NW/NNW, energy still moderate-to-strong (507 to 590), and offshore winds holding. By Wednesday the 12th of August, we get a morning window of 5 ft from NNW, moderate offshore, and moderate combined energy (527) – that’s the most manageable day for stronger intermediates. But don’t get too excited: that afternoon and into Thursday the 13th, a very long-period 15-second swell rolls in from the WNW, but it’s tiny at just 2 ft, with moderate energy (393 to 397). That long period feels amazing, but there’s just no size to work with.

The one true standout is Thursday the 6th of August – if you’re an expert and can handle big, clean, offshore conditions with a lot of water moving, that’s your day. The rest is either small or borderline on quality. Port Orford is inconsistent and often crowded, so get out early if you can. With the constant offshore wind and those bigger swells later on, this setup might actually be more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing during the windier afternoons.

Rusty.

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