Redhead Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, I’m Rusty, and I’ve got the goods on the surf outlook for Redhead. Let’s get into it.

Right off the bat, I gotta be straight with ya – the next 16 days are gonna be a tough stretch for any decent surf at Redhead. This is a reef setup, best for beginners when it’s working, but the forecast is looking pretty flat and messy for a long while. There’s a noticeable gap of days with no real surf to recommend, and overall, there’s only one brief moment that’s worth getting excited about.

We’re looking at a long run starting from August 23 all the way through to the morning of August 25 where the conditions are just poor – tiny waves, cross-shore winds, and choppy water. The combined swell energy is low, mostly well under 100 (like 32 and 12), so it’s weak, and the swell periods are short, mostly between 4 and 9 seconds. Not much to work with.

The one little standout comes on the morning of Tuesday, August 25. We get a pulse of swell rolling in from the NE at 5 ft with a period of 7 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 208 (moderate), and the wind is blowing from the NNW at 6 mph, which is offshore and clean. For a reef break, offshore wind is a big plus, and the waves look like they’ll have some shape. The water temp is about average for this time of year, nothing too unusual. Keep in mind this swell is short period, so it won’t have that long lully groundswell feel, but it’ll be rideable for a beginner on a clean face.

After that morning, it all falls apart again. The wind swings cross and onshore for the rest of August 25 and the following days, with swell dropping back to 1 ft to 3 ft. The energy stays low (mostly under 100), and the conditions are poor through the rest of the month and into September. The waves are just too small and wonky to bother with.

The stretch from August 26 to September 7 is a major gap. There’s no real quality on offer. Even when we get a couple of glassy or offshore windows (like August 30 morning with glassy conditions, or September 03 morning with a clean offshore from the NW), the swell is barely a ripple at 1.0 ft to 1 ft – combined energy in the 20s to 30s – so it’s basically flat. That said, the break is fairly consistent overall, so it tends not to stay this poor for long.

The prime window is that Tuesday morning, August 25, with the NE swell and offshore wind. It’s the only one worth paddling out for in the whole 16-day window. Everything else is a wait-and-see.

Stay salty,
Rusty

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