Porth Ceriad Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Right then, let’s have a look at what’s on the cards for Porth Ceriad.

Honestly, mate, I’m looking at the next two and a bit weeks and it’s a bit of a struggle. We’ve got a long, quiet spell ahead. From Sunday the 16th right the way through to Tuesday the 25th of August, the surf is basically flat. We’re talking ankle-snappers at best, with swell heights mostly scraping 0.3ft to 1ft. The energy is just not there – the combined energy readings are all below 100, mostly single digits or low teens, which is about as weak as it gets. It’s going to be a long, drawn-out wait.

Now, there’s a bit of early hope on Wednesday the 19th when a pulse pushes swell up to 5ft to 5ft from the WSW and SW, with the energy climbing into three digits (121 on the Wednesday morning, 158 on the afternoon). But the wind is a total mess – strong cross and cross-onshore breezes up to 25 mph, and it’s described as lumpy and messy. For a spot that’s exposed and faces SW, that’s not going to be clean. That’s more of a kite-surfing sort of day for a paddle.

The real standout, and I mean the *only* proper window I’d circle on the calendar, is a few weeks out. Things look like they might actually line up around Friday the 28th and Saturday the 29th of August. On the 28th, we’ve got a solid 4ft SW swell with a period of 8 seconds pushing through. The combined energy is really strong – 227 on the morning and 266 on the afternoon. The wind is the problem then, being onshore and cross-onshore. But then look at Saturday the 29th of August morning: we get the same 4ft of swell from the W, with a 5-second period, and the wind swings to a clean cross-offshore breeze from the WNW at 16 mph. That should clean things right up.

That Saturday morning is your best bet. It’s not a huge swell, but it’s backed by that strong wave energy (92) and the wind will be perfect for Porth Ceriad. It’s a beginner-friendly spot, fairly consistent, and it’s exposed to that SW fetch, so the WNW wind will be blowing straight off the land. It’s a bit far out to lock in, but that’s the one to keep an eye on. The water is sitting at 67°F on the 16th, which is a whopping 6° warmer than usual – that’s very unusual, bathwater stuff for mid-August.

So, to wrap it up: a long, flat, frustrating start, then a messy pulse mid-week, but the real promise is that Saturday the 29th morning. It’s a rare highlight in a bleak run – let’s hope it holds.

Rusty.

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