Southerndown Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s on the menu for Southerndown over the next couple of weeks.

Right off the bat, I’ll be straight with you – this is a tough stretch. We’re looking at a long, quiet run with barely a ripple for the first week and a half. The water temp is sitting around 69°, which is a whopping 4° warmer than usual for this time of year – that’s very unusual, and you’ll feel it when you first paddle out. But the problem is, there’s just no energy in the water.

From Saturday 22 August right through to the end of the month, the swell is tiny. We’re talking 0.3ft to 1.0ft. The combined energy is weak, reading between 6 and 32 (weak energy). Winds are messy, mostly cross-off or cross-on, and the period is short – often 8 to 9 seconds. There’s nothing to get excited about. The first few days of September don’t look much better. The first real sign of life doesn’t show up until Thursday 3 September. That morning we get a 3ft swell from the WSW, with a period of 6 seconds, and the combined energy finally climbs to 94 (still weak, but a step up). The wind is offshore from the NE at 15 mph, which will clean things up. The afternoon looks even better with an easterly cross-off breeze at 6 mph, light and clean. This is the first surfable window, but it’s very ordinary – the waves will be small and a bit weak.

The standout for the whole period, if you can call it that, is the afternoon of Thursday 3 September. The swell is 3ft from the WSW, period is 6 seconds, and the wind is light easterly at 6 mph, keeping the surface clean. The combined energy hits 128 (moderate wave energy), which is the best we see. It’s not a classic, but it’s the most promising session in a very flat forecast.

After that, Friday 4 September morning holds some hope with 2ft from the WSW and a 9-second period, but then the wind swings onshore and the whole thing fades. By the weekend of 5 and 6 September, we’re back to small, choppy junk with strong cross-shore winds.

Honestly, there’s no big swell, no long-period groundswell, and no real power. The best bet is to keep an eye on Thursday 3 September for a tiny, clean window. For the rest of the time, you’re better off checking the forecast again later – it tends not to stay this flat forever.

Rusty.

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