Whakatane Heads Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I gotta be straight with you – the surf forecast for Whakatane Heads over the next couple of weeks is a tough one to write. We're looking at a long, long stretch of barely anything worth paddling out for.

The data kicks off on Tuesday, September 15th, and honestly, it’s a flat spell for days. The water temperature has been sitting about a degree colder than average for this time of year, coming in at 57°, though with no real waves, that's more of a wetsuit decision than a surf report.

From Tuesday the 15th right through until Thursday the 17th, we're looking at tiny, weak swell with a combined energy reading of 19 to 25. The wind is mostly whack – cross-on or onshore – and the wave comment keeps calling it poor surf conditions. It’s a dead period.

Friday morning, September 18th, things get a tiny tick. We get a 4 ft swell from the north with a short, weak period of 7 seconds, but combined energy jumps up to 138 (moderate). The wind is a clean cross-off from the southwest, so the surface is clean. It’s surfable, but the wave comment says it’s very ordinary. Even so, with the glassy conditions on Friday morning, that’s probably the only moment worth a look in this whole first week.

The weekend doesn’t offer much more. Saturday the 19th has some 3 ft to 4 ft windswell, but the period is only 5 seconds and combined energy is weak (80–86). Saturday morning has clean cross-off wind from the WSW, so it’s rideable, but not memorable. Sunday the 20th shows a slightly bigger pulse – 5 ft from the northwest on the morning, with combined energy at 218 (moderate). But the wind is cross-shore and the surf is messy and choppy. Sunday afternoon the wind goes cross-off and clean, but the swell drops to 4 ft.

Then, from Monday the 21st all the way through to Wednesday the 30th of September, it’s back to tiny, gutless surf. Heights barely break 0.3 ft to 1 ft, combined energy is mostly in single digits, and the wave comments are all “poor surf conditions.” There are some beautiful offshore and glassy windows in there – like Wednesday the 23rd morning with strong S offshore wind, but the swell is just 1.0 ft. You could sit out there on a longboard and barely catch a ripple.

For the second week, the pattern doesn't change. All the way through to the end of September, it's flat. The last few days show tiny 0.3 ft to 2 ft lumps, with poor period and weak energy.

Honestly, there’s no standout session here. If I had to point you to one moment, it’s the Friday morning, September 18th at Whakatane Heads. The swell is small at 4 ft from the north, but with the clean, cross-off SW wind, it’ll be the cleanest it gets. But it’s not going to be a day that lights the world on fire. For everyone else, maybe save the wax for another week – forecasts can change, but right now, this is a long blank run.

Rusty.

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