Porth Ceriad Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here. Let’s be straight up – if you’re after a decent wave at Porth Ceriad over the next 16 days, you’re gonna be doing a lot more waiting than surfing. There’s almost no real surf to speak of, so don’t be in a rush to paddle out.

First up, from now – Wednesday 26th August – right through to the end of the month, it’s a total write-off. We’re talking ankle-sloshers under 0.7 ft with weak energy (9–13). The wind is a mess of cross and onshore directions and there’s rain around. Nothing to even bother looking at.

Thursday 27th is just as grim – even less swell at 0.3 ft and the wind is all over the shop. The water temp anomaly is about average for this time of year, but who cares when you can’t even get wet.

Friday 28th sees a bit of life, with the swell bumping up to 4 ft from the SW, but the period is a weak 6 seconds and it’s cross-onshore at 19 mph. The combined energy is moderate at 106, but it’s lumpy and messy – definitely not one to get excited about. The size is still okay for beginners, but the quality is shithouse.

Saturday 29th is worse – onshore winds ramping up to 28 mph, 7 ft of junky SW swell, and that moderate energy jumps to 347. It’s messy, blown out, and only for the hardcore or the kite crew.

Sunday 30th through Wednesday 2nd September is more of the same – small, weak, and onshore or cross-onshore. The swell rarely tops 5 ft, and when it does, the period is short and the wind ruins it. Combined energy stays under 230 most days.

Finally, a little window appears late in the piece. On Friday 4th September morning, we get a glimpse of what could’ve been – 3 ft from the SW, with a clean offshore N wind at 9 mph. The waves are surfable but ordinary, and the energy is weak (48). It’s a beginner-friendly size and the conditions are clean, so if you’re desperate and have a foamie, it’s the best of a bad bunch.

Sunday 6th September afternoon is another potential – 5 ft from the SSE, glassy conditions with light air, and the energy is moderate (101). The period is only 5 seconds though, so it’s a bit fat and crumbly, but at least it’s clean.

Then things get ugly again – Monday 7th September brings a 10 ft SW swell with a 9-second period, but it’s onshore at 28 mph with a massive energy reading of 1332. That’s a lot of power, but it’s a horrendous, blown-out mess – only for expert kamikazes or kites. After that, it fades back to tiny, weak, and wind-affected through to the 10th.

Bottom line:
Porth Ceriad isn’t firing at all. The best you can hope for is the morning of Friday 4th September – a clean 3 ft offshore morning for the beginners, or Sunday 6th September afternoon if you want a glassy but short-period 5 ft. Everything else is a complete write-off. A blank run like this is pretty normal for the area when the wind and swell don’t line up.

Rusty.

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