Whitley Bay Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what Whitley Bay has lined up over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, I gotta be straight with you – this is a tough run. We’re looking at a whole lot of days with poor surf conditions and barely a ripple. The first real chance of catching anything that isn’t a total flat spell doesn’t show up until Wednesday the 16th of September. Before that, we’ve got a long stretch of tiny, weak swells and onshore winds that just aren’t doing us any favours.

Wednesday the 16th is where we finally see a pulse. For the afternoon at Whitley Bay, we get a 4ft swell coming from the NNE with a short period of 7 seconds. The combined energy reading is moderate at 163, but here’s the kicker – the wind goes glassy. That ESE breeze at just 3 mph will have the surface looking like a mirror. The waves will be clean, but they’re going to be pretty weak and gutless with that short period. It’s surfable, but it’s a definite "beginners and longboarders only" kind of day, and it might be a bit of a struggle to get into them. Crowds are possible here sometimes, so you might have company in the water.

Thursday the 17th is a bit of a letdown after that brief window. The swell drops back down to 4ft, but the wind goes stiff from the WSW at 12 mph, cross-off, which ruins the clean surface we had. The energy is still moderate at 165, but the wind chops it up.

We then hit another dead zone. From Friday the 18th right through to Tuesday the 22nd of September, it’s tiny, weak, or flat. A few pulses here and there with offshore wind, but the wave heights are all below 2ft and the energy levels are pathetic. Not worth paddling out for.

The next little glimmer comes on Wednesday the 24th of September. Thursday morning shows some promise again – a 4ft swell from the NNW, period of 8 seconds, combined energy of 191 (moderate), and the wind goes glassy from the SE at just 3 mph. Once again, clean conditions but ordinary waves. The afternoon of the 24th actually kicks up to 5ft from the N with a 9-second period and the energy jumps to 459 (strong), but the wind swings cross-on from the ESE at 6 mph. That’ll make it lumpy and messy, so it’s not the clean surf we’re after.

Friday the 25th of September is the last day worth mentioning. Morning shows a 2ft NNE swell, 9-second period, light S wind at 3 mph blowing cross-off. Clean enough, but small.

So, if you’re itching for a paddle, the two standout windows are Wednesday the 16th and Thursday the 24th of September – both mornings offering glassy conditions and small, clean waves. Don’t expect any barrels. For the rest, it’s a lot of wind and flat spells. The water temp is sitting around 59°, which is about average for this time of year here.

Keep an eye on the forecasts, mate. It can’t stay this quiet forever.

- Rusty

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