West Dale Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey mates, Rusty here. Not gonna lie – West Dale is looking pretty grim for the next couple weeks. There’s some swell, but the wind is just trashing it for most of the run. There’s one short window where things clean up, so you’ll wanna be on it.

The swell kicks in Thursday the 10th with a 5-foot SW swell, but the wind is screaming out of the SSW at 22 mph, cross-onshore and lumpy. Wave energy is moderate at 126, but the quality is zero. Thursday afternoon gets bigger – 8-foot WSW swell – but still cross-on with a 25 mph breeze, energy up to 628, and it’s messy.

Friday the 11th and Saturday the 12th stay poor: cross-shore and onshore winds, surf between 3 ft and 7 ft, and poor conditions all around.

Now for the one that could actually work: Sunday morning, September 13th. The wind drops to a light N breeze at 9 mph, cross-offshore, and it goes glassy clean. The swell is 4 ft from the WSW at a 10-second period – proper groundswell with moderate energy at 265. The wave comment says “expect good surf conditions.” This is your best bet. West Dale is fairly consistent and exposed to the SW, so it’ll line up nicely. Crowds can be there sometimes, but for this kind of rare clean spell, it’s worth it.

Sunday afternoon and pretty much everything after that is a write-off. Monday the 14th to Wednesday the 16th sees the swell drop to 1 ft to 2 ft, with onshore and cross-shore winds, lumpy chop, and very low energy (28 to 65). Not worth it.

There’s a gap from mid-month through the 19th where you’d be better off fixing your board. Thursday the 17th and Friday the 18th have almost no swell – just over a foot – and poor conditions. Saturday the 19th sees a 3 ft to 4 ft spike from the S/SSW, but it’s cross-onshore with a 19 mph breeze, so it’s messy.

Then Sunday morning, September 20th – tiny: 0.3 ft of swell, but the wind is cross-offshore from the N at 16 mph, clean as a whistle. The period is 14 seconds, so if a wave pops up, it’ll have shape. But it’s barely there – energy is only 14.

From Monday the 21st to Friday the 25th, the wind goes straight onshore again (SW to W at 12-25 mph), with swell from 4 ft to 6 ft. The energy is moderate (93 to 335), but the quality is poor. This setup is more for kite surfers than paddle surfers.

Water temp is average for the season – nothing wild.

So, the one standout is Sunday morning, September 13th – clean, proper swell, and a bit of energy. Everything else is a battle with the wind or just too small. Don’t hold your breath, but forecasts can change.

Rusty.

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