Surf Forecasts:
Southerndown surf forecast from 16 Aug 2026:
- Most powerful swell: Thursday 20 Aug, 10AM (local time) - 4.5ft (1.4m), 7s period, W swell with 210 kJ wave energy.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Southerndown this week:
The most powerful waves expected at Southerndown in the next 16 days are 1.4m 7s and forecast to arrive on Thursday (Aug 20) at 10AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-shore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.3m 3s period and expected on Sunday (Aug 23) at 1PM.
| Wave Type | Time (BST) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | - | - |
| Best Surf | - | - |
| Most Powerful | 10AM (Thu 20th Aug) | 4.5ft (1.4m) 7s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Southerndown over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, folks, Rusty here. Let's take a long, hard look at what's on the table for the next couple of weeks.
Honestly, it's a grim picture. We’ve got a solid 16-day run ahead, and the first few days are a write-off. There is no surf worth paddling out for right now.
We kick off on Sunday, the 16th of August. For Southerndown, the water is a balmy 70°, which is a massive 8° warmer than normal for this time of year – that’s very unusual. But that's where the good news ends. The swell is tiny, a mere 1.0ft from the WSW with a short period of 7 seconds, giving us only weak wave energy (11). The wind is glassy in the morning, which would be beautiful if there was any wave to ride, but it’s just a flat lake.
This stagnant, disappointing pattern continues right through the end of August. Monday the 17th through Thursday the 20th sees the swell bump up a touch, hitting 5ft on Thursday morning, but it’s wrapped in constant, strong cross-onshore wind, making it a choppy, lumpy mess. Forget about it.
Friday the 21st and Saturday the 22nd are no better. We get a tiny blip of longer period on the 22nd with a 0.7ft swell at 11 seconds, but the energy is still minimal (25). There’s a glassy morning, but again, nothing to ride.
The whole first week is just a total bust. You’re better off finding a rockpool. The combined swell energy never climbs into a meaningful range until the 28th.
Moving into the second week, there’s finally a bit of life. On Friday the 28th of August, a pulse of swell arrives: 4ft from the WSW with a moderate combined energy of (234). The period is a weak 8 seconds though, and the wind is onshore in the morning, turning to a tricky cross-onshore in the afternoon. It’s rideable, but it’ll be a battle.
Saturday the 29th stays similar with 3ft to 4ft, but again, the wind is fresh and messy.
The very end of the run, Sunday the 30th and Monday the 31st, gets ugly again with gale-force winds. Not for surfing. The whole setup during the windy periods here at Southerndown (a beach break with a SW optimum) would be more interesting for kite surfing than a paddle session.
Honestly, if you look across this whole 16-day window, there is not one single standout session. The best of a bad bunch is likely the morning of Friday the 28th, with 4ft swell (234 energy), but it’s poor conditions across the board. Nothing is consistent. Sometimes the forecasts shift, but this blank run looks to be the norm for the area right now.
Stay patient.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastSome drizzle, heaviest during Mon night. Very mild (max 19°C on Mon morning, min 14°C on Tue night). Winds increasing (calm on Sun morning, fresh winds from the W by Tue afternoon). | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 6mm), mostly falling on Wed afternoon. Very mild (max 18°C on Thu morning, min 13°C on Thu night). Winds decreasing (fresh winds from the W on Wed afternoon, calm by Fri night). | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sunday 16 | Monday 17 | Tuesday 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 7 | WSW 7 | WSW 7 | WSW 5 | W 5 | W 5 | WSW 6 | WSW 6 | WSW 6 | W 6 | WSW 6 | WSW 7 | W 7 | W 7 | W 6 | WSW 8 | WSW 6 | W 5 | WSW 11 | WSW 10 | WSW 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 11 | 18 | 5 | 9 | 36 | 13 | 64 | 62 | 46 | 97 | 126 | 176 | 210 | 138 | 40 | 22 | 13 | 8 | 11 | 10 | 18 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross | cross-off | cross | cross-on | cross-off | glassy | cross-on | off |
High Tide | 9:48PM8.99m | 10:07AM8.48m | 10:25PM8.43m | 10:44AM7.95m | 11:03PM7.76m | 11:22AM7.34m | 11:42PM7.06m | 12:04PM6.72m | 00:30AM6.40m | 1:00PM6.16m | 1:39AM5.89m | 2:24PM5.84m | 3:16AM5.76m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 3:32PM0.39m | 3:54AM0.55m | 4:07PM0.80m | 4:29AM1.07m | 4:44PM1.34m | 5:05AM1.67m | 5:23PM1.95m | 5:45AM2.30m | 6:09PM2.56m | 6:37AM2.88m | 7:14PM3.08m | 7:53AM3.28m | 8:46PM3.31m | ||||||||
 |  |  | | |  | | | | |  | | | | |  | | | | |  | |
 | 6:00 | — | — | 6:01 | — | — | 6:03 | — | — | 6:05 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:07 | — | — | 6:09 | — | — |
 | — | 8:35 | — | — | 8:32 | — | — | 8:30 | — | — | 8:29 | — | — | 8:27 | — | — | 8:24 | — | — | 8:22 | — |
mm | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | 2 | 2 | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 17 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 18 | 19 | 18 | 17 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 18 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 17 | 14 | 17 | 19 | 16 |
Feels °C | 17 | 15 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 16 | 17 | 13 | 15 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 13 | 12 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 15 | 12 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | WSW 7 | W 7 | WSW 7 | WSW 5 | — | WSW 7 | — | W 17 | W 17 | SW 16 | — | SW 16 | WSW 7 | SW 14 | W 6 | WSW 8 | WSW 6 | W 5 | W 8 | WSW 8 | WSW 10 |
| kJ | 11 | 9 | 5 | 9 | — | 10 | — | 6 | 6 | 11 | — | 10 | 164 | 8 | 40 | 22 | 13 | 8 | 5 | 6 | 18 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | WSW 7 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 16 | W 15 | — | SW 14 | W 5 | WSW 8 | WSW 8 | WSW 11 | WSW 10 | SW 15 |
| kJ | — | — | — | 5 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 5 | 4 | — | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 11 | 10 | 9 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | W 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | W 14 | — | SW 13 | SW 12 | SW 15 | SW 15 | W 5 |
| kJ | — | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 4 | — | 7 | 6 | 9 | 9 | 1 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | WSW 7 | W 4 | — | W 5 | W 5 | WSW 6 | WSW 6 | WSW 6 | W 6 | WSW 6 | WSW 7 | W 7 | W 7 | — | — | WNW 3 | — | — | — | — |
| kJ | — | 18 | 2 | — | 36 | 13 | 64 | 62 | 46 | 97 | 126 | 176 | 210 | 138 | — | — | 1 | — | — | — | — |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 265 | 424 | 263 | 347 | 306 | 401 | 266 | 1151 | 387 | 464 | 306 | 504 | 79 | 353 | 9 | 347 | 347 | 194 | 318 | 336 | 147 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Wales - South East | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||
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The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Southerndown surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Southerndown Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Southerndown provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Southerndown can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Southerndown surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Southerndown) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Southerndown may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Are you planning a holiday in Wales - South East? If you are looking for accommodation near Southerndown, camping, hotels and holiday cottages in Wales - South East, consider staying in Porthcawl which is 6 km (4 miles) away. Other places in and around Wales - South East where you can find information about places to rent, and car hire include Nash Point which is 8 km (5 miles) away, Coity, Maesteg and Barry.
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