The Heads Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming down the pipe for The Heads over the next couple of weeks.

It’s a bit of a slow burner this time. We’ve got some serious size early on, but boy, it comes with complications. The water temperature has taken a real dive at 57°, a full 6° colder than what’s normal for this time of year. That’s a pretty unusual chill, so you’ll want a thick wetsuit.

The standout session, without a doubt, is the early morning of Wednesday the 2nd of September. That morning we’re looking at a solid 8 ft SW groundswell with a very long period of 14 seconds, and the wind is forecast to be glassy, absolutely dead calm. The combined energy reading is strong at 2623. That’s the kind of clean, powerful setup that makes the paddle out easy and the drops steep. It’s going to be a ripper for experienced surfers. The afternoon holds clean at 8 ft with light offshore wind, which is also excellent.

Right, let’s step through it chronologically.

We kick off on Thursday the 20th of August. The morning has a massive 12 ft SSW swell (combined energy of 4801) and light cross-onshore wind. That’s too big for most and the conditions are only just passable. The afternoon drops to 10 ft but the wind is onshore, making it messy.

Friday the 21st drops into the 7 ft to 5 ft range, but the wind stays cross or cross-on, so it’s pretty weak fare with low scores.

Saturday the 22nd sees strong winds of 16 mph and 12 mph making a mess of the 6 ft to 5 ft swells. Choppy and uninviting.

Sunday the 23rd brings a bit of hope with cleaner 8 ft swell on the morning with light onshore wind, but the quality is still marginal.

Through the rest of that week up to the 25th and 26th, we’ve got swell hanging around the 5 ft to 8 ft range. The morning of Wednesday the 26th is notable with 5 ft SW swell and light cross-offshore wind, offering clean waves, but it’s nothing huge.

We then hit a bit of a flat spot from the 27th through the 31st. The swell gets smaller, periods drop off, and wind keeps things messy. The 30th has a short-period 8 ft SE swell but the quality is poor.

Then we hit that excellent window on the 2nd of September I mentioned. After that, things fade quickly. The 3rd gets windy again, and the 4th drops to tiny 4 ft to 4 ft slop with not much push.

So, bottom line: if you can wait for Wednesday the 2nd of September, that morning with glassy conditions and a meaty 8 ft groundswell is the one to circle on your calendar. Everything else is either too big and messy, or too small.

Stay warm out there.

Rusty.

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