Vale do Lobo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you. The next couple of weeks are looking pretty damn flat for our stretch of coast. If you’ve got a board that works in knee-high dribble, you might get a few fun little ones, but for anyone looking for a real wave, you’re going to be waiting a while.

There is a gap of a few days with no real surf on offer right now, and to be honest, the whole 16-day window is a struggle. We're looking at tiny, weak swell with poor surf conditions dominating the forecast. It’s not going to be a good time to paddle out at Vale do Lobo.

The water's sitting at around 70°, which is close to normal for this time of year, so no need for the thicker suit just yet.

Monday the 17th has nothing for us. A tiny 0.7ft of swell with light winds, but just no energy at all. The next few days are much the same – flat and forgettable. There is a slight bump in energy on the 21st and 22nd, but it's all short-period, muddled stuff, and the wind is going to mess it up anyway. The combined energy is weak, maxing out in the low-to-mid 30s in the brackets, which just doesn’t get the heart racing.

The most promising windows are the glassy mornings when the wind drops. Wednesday the 19th, Tuesday the 25th, Thursday the 27th and the 28th all have that clean, glassy start. But even then, the swell is only 0.7ft to 1ft with a period of 5-10 seconds. That's barely a ripple, and these are not conditions that will have you calling in sick. The west swell is there, but it's tiny and the energy is just really weak, values in the low single digits on the 25th and 26th.

There’s a cleaner look to the mornings on the 22nd and 24th with a cross-off breeze, but the wave height is still well under 3ft. It’s just not surfable in any meaningful way.

Saturday the 29th and the morning of the 31st see the energy pick up a bit, reaching the mid-20s, with the swell period getting a bit longer to 11 seconds. The morning of the 31st looks the most promising of the lot – a clean, cross-off breeze and that longer-period pulse. But we're still talking about 1ft. It won't be a wave you can really ride, but maybe a little reform on the sandbar if you’re desperate for a splash around.

To be honest, if you’re really jonesing for a wave, this isn't the stretch of coast for you over the next two weeks. This is more of a blank run, which happens around here from time to time. The conditions might be more interesting for a kite surfer than a paddle surfer on the days with the stronger cross-onshore winds, like the 21st and 23rd.

Hang in there, the forecasts can always change, but for now, keep the board in the car and the wax in the bag.

Rusty.

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