Viana do Castelo Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, folks. Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cooking for our little corner of the coast. I gotta be straight with you: the next couple of weeks are looking pretty slim. There’s a long stretch of small, weak, or blown-out conditions, and we’re going to have to wait for any real swell to show up. The one highlight is a late pulse of size, but even that comes with a big catch.

Right now, things are flat, flat, flat. We kick off with Viana do Castelo seeing some tiny waves on Friday the 3rd. A WNW swell of just 3ft at 11 seconds, with a cross-off breeze. It’s surfable, but with combined wave energy sitting at only 191, it’s really weak. For the size, the 63° water is feeling just a touch cooler than usual for this time of year, which is pretty normal.

The weekend and most of next week are a write-off. From Saturday the 4th right through to Thursday the 9th, we’ve got a long gap of nothing worth paddling out for. Swell heights are all under 2ft, periods are short, and the winds are mostly onshore or cross-shore with chop. The energy readings are all below 100 – total dog days.

We get a tease on Friday the 10th with another tiny, clean wave, but it’s still just 2ft. Not worth the wetsuit.

Now, here’s where it gets interesting, but also a little dangerous. Over the weekend of the 11th and 12th, the swell spikes hard. Saturday morning the 11th sees a NNW swell jump to 5ft, with combined energy of 234 (moderate). But the wind is a fresh 19 mph from the north, making things clean but bumpy. Saturday afternoon really ramps up: 6ft at 8 seconds from the NW with energy at 484, and a strong 25 mph cross-off wind. Sunday the 12th is the biggest – 8ft from the NNW, with energy soaring to 868, a very strong push. The period is a short 9 seconds, so it’s going to be a messy, dumpy beast. The wind is still howling at 25 mph. These waves are too big for beginners, and honestly, with that wind, it's looking more like a kite-surfing session than a clean paddle out. It’s an ugly, powerful mess.

Monday the 13th is still big, with 7ft swell and 620 energy, but the wind drops to a moderate 19 mph. The forecaster notes the swell is simply too big for this break, so even though it’s clean, it’s gonna be a washing machine for most of us. Only experts with a death wish should even look at it.

After that, the energy dies off quickly. We drop back to 3ft on Tuesday the 14th, then back to knee-high dribble for the rest of the second week. There’s nothing more to get excited about until the outlook ends.

So, the only real standout here is the big swell on Saturday the 11th and Sunday the 12th, but that “standout” is more of a warning. If you’re a seasoned charger with a big-wave gun, maybe, *maybe* Sunday the 12th with that 8ft swell from the NNW (and a strong wind to keep it clean-ish) is your only shot. For everyone else, keep the board in the car and wait for a better forecast. This region can turn around quick, but right now, it’s a long, flat road ahead.

Stay tuned, and I’ll keep an eye on it.

Rusty.

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