The Heads Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, grab your board, let’s get into it.

The next couple of days are looking pretty grim. We’ve got some swell around, but the onshores and cross-shore winds are going to make a mess of it. The water temp at The Heads is sitting at 61°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year, so don’t forget the booties if you’re heading out.

Saturday morning kicks off with a 5ft SSW swell, but the ESE wind at 12 mph is going to have it chopped up. Not worth your time. The energy is weak too, only 698. That’s a no-go.

Sunday is when things start to get interesting. We’ve got a solid jump in size. Morning brings a 8ft SSW swell with a 19-second period. That’s a proper groundswell, lots of push. But the E wind at 16 mph is still ruining the surface. It’s not clean, but the power is there. The energy is strong at 4977. You can feel it. The afternoon bumps up to 10ft with a 17-second period, and the energy jumps to 5997. It’s big, but the wind is howling at 19 mph. This one’s for the experienced crew only, and even then, it’s going to be a battle.

Monday is the standout of this first push. The swell backs off a touch to 7ft from the SSW, but the period holds at 14 seconds. More importantly, the wind drops right out. Monday morning is clean with a light ENE cross-off breeze at 3 mph. This is the best the surf will be for a while. The energy is strong at 2898. It’s going to be proper out there. The Heads will handle this swell well, though the long period can make it a bit shifty on the sandbar, so keep your head on a swivel.

Tuesday and Wednesday drop off. The swell fades, the wind turns onshore, and it just gets messy. Tuesday morning has a lumpy 5ft E swell and it’s all over the place. Wednesday is even smaller. Not worth a paddle.

Now, Thursday rolls around and we get another pulse. Morning sees a 7ft SW swell with a 17-second period, and the wind is light. The energy is 2733. It looks good on paper, but the light SSE wind is cross-onshore, which puts a bit of a wind ripple on it. It’s surfable, but not as clean as Monday.

Friday is where the magic happens. After a morning of mediocre conditions, Friday afternoon is the one to circle. The wind goes dead calm, completely glassy. We’ve got a 10ft SSE swell rolling in. The period is only 8 seconds, so it’s a shorter period swell, but the glassy surface makes up for it. The energy is 1893, which is moderate but punchy. This is going to be a fun, powerful wave, just watch out for those shorter intervals. It’s going to be a bit wonky on the sandbar, but it’s clean.

Saturday the wind picks back up, and things get messy again. We’ve got big swell, but it’s onshore and lumpy. Not worth it.

Sunday morning, another gem. The wind is glassy again, completely calm. We’ve got a 10ft swell, this time from the ESE with a 10-second period. The energy is strong at 3078. This is a big, clean swell. The Heads will be handling a lot of water. This is definitely a standout. Experienced surfers only, this one is thick.

The following week has a bit of a lull. Monday and Tuesday are still surfable with 7ft to 8ft swells, but the winds are onshore or cross-onshore, keeping the surface a bit lumpy. Not terrible, but nothing special.

Wednesday the 16th looks messy. Strong onshore SW winds at 19 mph will ruin it. Big swell, but blown out and lumpy. Not a good look.

Thursday the 17th is more of the same, with a cross-shore wind keeping the surface bumpy.

Now, here’s another standout for you. Friday the 18th, in the morning, the wind goes glassy again. The swell has dropped to 5ft from the SSW with a 12-second period. Energy is moderate at 1034. It’s clean, it’s glassy, and it should be a fun, manageable size. A good day for a session if you want a break from the heavy stuff.

The weekend after that gets mixed up again. Saturday the 19th is small and onshore. Not good. Then Sunday the 20th brings a big 13ft SW swell, but the wind is howling onshore at 19 mph. The energy is strong at 4283, but it’s going to be a washing machine. It might be more interesting for the kite surfers than for us.

So, to break it down: the real standouts are Monday morning for the quality of the swell and wind, and Friday afternoon and the following Sunday morning for the glassy conditions on big swell. If you’re not an expert, wait for the swell to drop and the wind to go calm.

Rusty

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