Tongo Reef Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G’day, Rusty here.

We’ve got a bit of a slow burner on our hands for the next week and a bit, but there’s some serious potential brewing for the end of the run. The ocean’s gonna be a bit sleepy to start, but it’s worth keeping an eye on the horizon.

The first real chance of a wave comes on Wednesday afternoon, August 26th. Tongo Reef (a solid reef setup, exposed to the S) will have some small SW swell rolling in at 2ft. It’s not much, and the conditions are a bit marginal, but it’s a start. The water is sitting at 78°F, which is a whopping 9°F warmer than usual for this time of year—that’s a real anomaly, the water’s properly toasty.

Thursday stays pretty quiet, with the swell slowly building through the day—2ft in the morning, bumping up to 3ft by the afternoon. Winds are cross-off and light, so it’ll be clean but still pretty small. We’re looking at weak to moderate energy readings, around 558 and 879 on Thursday.

Now, Friday morning, August 28th, is where things start to get interesting. The swell jumps to 6ft from the SW, with a period of 16 seconds. That’s proper groundswell, and the energy readings are starting to pump—1543. With a light cross-off breeze, it’s going to be clean and lined up. This is the first real standout of the forecast. It’s going to be a bit much for beginners at 6ft, but for the experienced crew, it’s going to be firing. The afternoon does get a bit messier with a cross-shore chop, so make the most of the morning.

The weekend sees the swell ease off a bit. Saturday, August 29th, still has 5ft in the morning from the SW, but the period drops to 14 seconds, and the energy is down to 978. Still surfable, but not as powerful. By Sunday, we’re down to 4ft and the energy is dropping fast. The whole of the following week (August 31st to September 2nd) is looking pretty weak, with swell dropping to 3ft and periods all over the shop. It’s going to be a flat spell—a few days where you might as well leave the board in the car.

But don’t write it off. The models are showing a decent pulse filling in again for the first weekend of September. Thursday, September 3rd, the swell jumps back up to 5ft from the SW with a 17-second period. Energy readings are back up to 1704, so this is looking like another solid pulse of groundswell. Friday, September 4th, holds similar size (5ft) but the period eases off a touch. This is looking like a fun run of waves, and the conditions are staying clean.

The real gem, though, might be Wednesday morning, September 9th. The forecast shows 5ft of SW swell, a 15-second period, and the energy reading is the highest of the whole outlook at 1952. That’s a powerful, well-ordered swell. With a light cross-off wind, it’s looking like the best conditions of the whole window. It’s a long way out, so treat it as promising, but this has the makings of a proper session.

So, to sum it up: the near-term is small, but Friday the 28th is your best early call. Then we go flat for a stretch before the groundswell starts kicking in again around September 3rd, with the pick of the bunch looking like the 9th. Keep an eye on that one.

Stay stoked,
Rusty

Read more