Praia do Norte Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s talk about what’s cooking at Praia do Norte over the next couple of weeks. I’ll be straight with you – it’s a rough stretch for paddle surfing. The conditions are pretty much locked into a pattern of cross-shore and cross-onshore winds, choppy surfaces, and waves that are either too weak or blown out. The water temp is sitting at 70°F which is about normal for this time of year, so no surprises there.

The wind is coming from the NW and NNW most days, and it’s almost always a cross or cross-on breeze, which just messes up the face of the wave. The swell energy is weak to moderate at best, with the combined energy mostly in the double digits or low triple digits (230, 333, 168, 117) – nothing to get excited about. The swell periods are on the short side, mostly 6 to 11 seconds, so it’s mostly windswell with a bit of groundswell mixed in, but nothing that’s going to wrap in clean.

For the first week, from July 27th through to the end of the month, we’ve got small, weak waves. The best of a bad lot might be Tuesday morning July 28th with a 4ft NNW swell and a 10-second period, but the wind is cross-shore, so it’s just messy. The combined energy is only 333, so weak. The rest of the week is barely worth a mention – waves around 1ft to 3ft, short period, and choppy. There’s a long gap here with no real recommendations.

The first week of August stays pretty grim. The swell picks up a little, but so does the wind. On August 6th we start seeing bigger numbers – 6ft Thursday morning, then 8ft Thursday afternoon, but the wind is a fresh 19 mph cross-shore, making it a lumpy, blown-out mess. The combined energy jumps to 640 and 287, but it’s not surfable in a clean way.

The real standout, if you can call it that, is the weekend of August 7th and 8th. There’s a solid 10ft NNW swell on Friday morning, with a combined energy of 1309 – that’s a lot of power. But the wind is still cross-onshore at 16 mph, so it’s going to be a choppy, challenging day. For experts only, if you’re desperate. Then on Saturday morning August 8th, we get a brief window of offshore wind from the W at 6 mph, with a 8ft NNW swell (8 seconds). The combined energy is 769. This is the only time in the whole 16 days where the wind is actually offshore, which would make for cleaner faces. But it’s a short period swell, so it’s not going to have that long, lined-up feel. It’s a marginal call, but it’s the best on offer.

After that, it’s back to the wind. August 9th through 11th sees huge swell – 8ft, 10ft, even 10ft with a 10-second period and combined energy over 1800 – but with a strong breeze (22 to 28 mph) from the N and NNW, it’s just a howling, cross-shore mess. This setup is more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing. Too big, too windy, and too messy.

So, bottom line: there’s no clean, classic day in the whole 16-day window. The only flicker of hope is Saturday morning August 8th with a brief offshore wind. Everything else is a fight against the wind and chop. It’s a tough stretch for Praia do Norte, but that’s how it goes sometimes.

Rusty.

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