Salmon Creek Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, surfers, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you. This forecast for the next couple of weeks is a proper battle. We're looking at a long stretch of onshore wind and sloppy conditions for the most part, so we've got to be patient and pick our moments. There's no way around it; a lot of this window is going to be a write-off for decent waves.

We kick things off this Tuesday afternoon, September 8th, at Salmon Creek. It’s not much to get excited about, with a small 3ft of south swell wrapping in at 12 seconds, so it will be a bit soft. The wind is on it and the day is rated as marginal. There's some energy there (364), but it looks like a grovel for the log. Head high is a stretch.

Wednesday the 9th is even smaller early on, dropping to 1.5ft, and despite the long 19-second period, the energy is weak (259). The onshore breeze doesn’t help. By the afternoon, the wind picks up and the conditions turn poor.

Thursday the 10th shows a little more life, with the swell building to 2.5ft from the SW by the morning on a solid 17-second interval. The energy is climbing too (651). But the wind stays on it, so it’s still just a marginal call. The arvo sees the swell jump to 4.5ft, but it’s from the NW with a short, crumbly 11-second period and 20 km/h of onshore wind. More mess than magic.

Friday the 11th, you can forget the morning. The wind is up and the surf is poor. The afternoon is a write-off as the wind howls to 35 km/h and the swell gets to 8ft but with a horrible 7-second period. This is a churning, blown-out mess. Not good for anyone.

The weekend doesn't get any better. Saturday the 12th has 7ft of windswell with a 7-second period and strong onshore winds all day. Same story on Sunday the 13th, with a short-period 5.5ft swell and winds that are no good. This is classic blown-out, onshore slop. The energy is moderate (390-715), but the wind is just destroying any chance of a shape. For a beach break like this, that kind of wind and 6ft+ of short-period swell is going to be more interesting for the kite surfers than us paddle surfers.

The start of the second week—Monday the 14th and Tuesday the 15th—continues the trend of 5.5ft to 7ft of short-period, onshore-affected surf. Unless threading closeouts on a heavy board is your thing, it's a week to sort your gear.

We finally see a bit of relief on Wednesday the 16th, but that's about it. The swell stays small and the conditions are still poor. It’s not until Thursday the 17th that the wind backs off a little, but the swell drops right out to 1.5ft.

After that, we enter a stretch of small, weak southerly swells. The energy is moderate (360-426) but there's just not enough size or quality to get excited about. A lot of sub-3ft surf with a longer period, but the afternoon winds keep messing with it.

If you're looking for a tiny ray of hope, mark Monday morning, September 21st. The wind finally goes glassy, and we get a clean 2.5ft swell from the SW with a 17-second period (426). It’s small, but it’s the only time in the whole window where the conditions line up for a clean, if small, surf. That’s our standout, but it's a long-range call, so don't hold your breath. This spot is exposed to that west-northwest wind, so with conditions this bad for so long, it's a mentally tough forecast. Hang in there.

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