Praia do Meio Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks, it’s Rusty here. Gotta be straight with you – this outlook for the next 16 days is a real tough one. We’re looking at Praia do Meio, a river-mouth setup, and honestly, the forecast is a long, hard slog. There’s a massive gap of surf that just isn’t worth your time. The first several days are all marked as poor surf conditions, so we’re looking at a blank run from the start all the way through to the end of the first week. It’s not until Tuesday, August 4th, that we finally see a glimmer of hope.

The problem is the wind. For day after day, we’ve got onshore and cross-onshore breezes from the SE and ESE, ranging from 6 mph to 16 mph. That’s just chopping everything up. The swell is small and weak, with the combined energy sitting in the low double digits (between 59 and 115) for the first week, which is really weak. The water is sitting at a warm 79°, which is pretty normal for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The only real standout, and I mean the *only* one, is the morning of Tuesday, August 4th. We finally get a break in the weather. The wind swings around to the ENE and drops to a mere 3 mph, going glassy. For that morning, the swell is 5 ft from the SE with a period of 8 seconds. The combined energy jumps up to 332 (moderate). The data says “expect good surf conditions”. This is your window. The swell is from the SE, which is a little off the optimum S direction for this spot, but with glassy conditions, it’ll be clean. It’s a chunk of swell, but not monstrous, so intermediate surfers will be fine. It’s a river mouth, so that long-ish period (8 seconds) should wrap in nicely. Remember, it’s a fairly consistent spot, but it can get crowded sometimes, so get there early.

After that morning, it’s back to the grind. The wind picks up again, and the conditions slip back to poor. The following days see the swell hang around 4 ft to 5 ft, and the energy gets stronger (up to 525 on Monday, August 10th), but the wind is always cross-onshore and choppy. That 10th of August, with 5 ft swell and 12 mph ESE winds, that’s going to be a messy, blown-out mess. Not worth it for a paddle. Honestly, with that kind of wind and that river-mouth setup, it might be more interesting for the kite surfers than us.

Later in the second week, from the 8th onwards, the swell drops back down to 3 ft to 4 ft, and the period shortens to 7 seconds. The wind is still onshore. It’s just not on.

So, to sum it up: you’ve got one shot. The rest of the month and into early August is a write-off. Keep your eyes on that Tuesday morning, August 4th.

Rusty.

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