Willow Creek Surf Forecast and Surf Report

G'day, Rusty here. We've got a bit of a mixed bag coming up at Willow Creek, so let's get into it.

The water temperature is sitting at 59°, which is a bit colder than normal for this time of year—nothing wild, but you'll want a good wetsuit. The first week's looking pretty average, with small, messy surf. The standout window is well into the second week.

From Sunday the 30th of August, it's all small stuff. Swell hovers around 3ft to 4ft from the SSW, but the wind is cross or cross-on, killing any real quality. The wave energy is moderate (808 on Sunday morning), but the period is a long 15 seconds, so it's a groundswell that'll be better suited to a point or reef. Willow Creek is a reef, so that's a plus, but for now, it's just marginal surf. The wind stays messy all through Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, with no real windows of clean conditions. The swell drops to 2ft or 2ft at times, and the energy sinks to between 222 and 360. Thursday morning the 3rd of September still looks poor, but Thursday afternoon picks up a little with a 2ft swell and a very long 18-second period, pushing energy to 706. Still, the cross wind keeps it average.

Friday the 4th of September sees a slight bump with 3ft surf and a 17-second period, energy jumping to 1212. The wind is light cross-shore, so it's a bit better, but still marginal. Saturday the 5th is similar, with 4ft to 4ft swell and moderate cross winds.

Now, here's the one to circle. Sunday the 6th of September morning: the wind goes glassy at 5 km/h, with 3ft swell from the SSW, 15-second period, and energy of 510. That's about as clean as it gets for this size. Expect very good surf conditions. It's a small window, but if you're keen, that's the pick of the first week.

Then there's a gap of average or poor conditions until Tuesday the 8th of September. Tuesday morning bumps up to 7ft from the S with a 14-second period and energy of 1718, but the wind is cross-on, so it's a bit messy. Then Tuesday afternoon—hold onto your board. We get a massive 18ft swell from the S, 10-second period, and energy of 6263. That's strong to very strong energy, and the wind goes glassy. This is exceptional surf, but it's only for experts. That size is serious, and the short 10-second period means it'll be a bit lumpy, but the glassy wind will make it a wild, heavy ride. The rest of the week settles back to smaller, cross-wind conditions.

Another standout pops up on Sunday the 13th of September morning: 6ft from the WNW, 9-second period, glassy wind, energy of 724. Expect very good surf conditions again. Then Monday the 14th of September morning has 5ft from the WNW, glassy, with energy of 549. These are both clean, fun windows.

Keep in mind that the long-period swells (15-19 seconds) that we see early on are best suited to Willow Creek's reef setup, as they'll wall up nicely. The big 18ft day on the 8th is short-period, so it'll be a bit of a washing machine, but the glassy wind will make it a true test for the brave.

So, to sum it up: the best of the best is the glassy Sunday morning on the 6th of September for clean, small waves, and the big expert-only glassy session on Tuesday the 8th of September afternoon. The later Sunday and Monday mornings on the 13th and 14th of September are also clean and fun. Everything else is a skip.

Rusty out.

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