Southerndown Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s break down Southerndown. This is a tough one. We’ve got a long, long stretch of poor conditions before anything even starts to look like a wave, and even then, it's not for the faint-hearted.

The next couple of weeks are dominated by wind and weather that just won’t line up right. From Friday the 28th of August right through to the 8th of September, it’s a write-off. The water is way warmer than normal for this time of year, sitting at 69°F with a 8°F anomaly, which is very unusual, but that’s about the only interesting thing happening. The swell energy stays low early on, with readings like 44 and 87, and the wind is a constant cross-on mess. On the 30th of August, the swell jumps up to moderate energy with a combined 190, and then on Monday the 31st of August we see the strongest push with a reading of 487 as the swell hits 6 ft from the WSW. The period is a short 9 seconds, so lumpy, fat waves. But the wind is a fresh cross-onshore, and the model calls it “poor surf conditions” every single session. Not one decent window for a paddle.

This pattern continues through the first week of September. Winds are onshore or cross-onshore mostly, with the odd bit of cross-shore. Tuesday the 8th of September sees a strong breeze hitting 25 mph from the west, making a messy, blown-out scene. For a beach setup like Southerndown, this is more kite-surfing territory than a surfer’s dream – the wind and chop will be relentless.

Finally, on Sunday the 6th of September, we get a tease. The morning brings a light east breeze at 6 mph, cross-offshore, with the model calling it “clean.” The swell is tiny though, just 1 ft from the WSW with a 9-second period and energy at a weak 25. The afternoon goes glassy with zero wind and a clean surface, but the wave height drops to 1.0 ft. It’s pretty, but not surfable. The rest of the second week? Swell fades out completely. By the 10th of September, we’re looking at 0.7 ft and 0.3 ft waves with energy readings as low as 3. A couple of those sessions show glassy conditions early, but there’s just no water moving.

So, what’s the best on offer? Honestly, there’s no standout. If you had to pick a moment, Sunday the 6th of September afternoon is the only time the wind dies and the surface goes clean, but you’d be bobbing on ripples, not waves. That’s the harsh truth for this stretch. The forecast can always change, but right now, Southerndown is a flat, blown-out mess for the whole 16 days.

Rusty.

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