Block Island Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you: the next 16 days for Block Island are a bit of a bummer, if I’m being honest. We’ve got a long, frustrating stretch ahead before anything worth paddling out for shows up. I’ll walk you through it.

For the first week, it’s pretty grim. From Wednesday the 5th all the way through to Monday the 17th, we’re looking at a run of weak, short-period swell, almost always coming from the SSW. The wave energy barely gets a pulse going, sitting in the double digits or low triple digits (67 to 131) most days, which is weak to moderate at best. The winds are all wrong—cross, cross-on, and often fresh enough to chop things up. There are a couple of glimmers, like Wednesday morning the 12th, when it goes glassy (NNW 5 km/h) with a clean surface, but the swell is a tiny 3 ft at 6 seconds. It’s rideable on a log, but you won’t be getting any real power. The 14th of August has a clean window Friday afternoon as the wind shifts WNW cross-off (19 mph), but the swell is only 4 ft and weak (71 combined energy). The onshore wind returns quickly after.

Then we hit a real dead zone from the 15th to the 18th. Swell drops to 1 ft to 2 ft, with barely any energy (19 to 66). The wind is either onshore or cross-on, and the period is short. It’s pretty much flat for a beginner and totally uninspiring for anyone. This is a classic late-summer lull around here.

Now, here’s the only thing that gets me talking. By Wednesday the 19th of August, a bigger pulse of SW swell starts to push in. Swell height climbs to 4 ft on Wednesday morning, building to 5 ft by the afternoon, with the energy jumping significantly (191). Then Thursday the 20th of August is the standout: 6 ft from the SW at 7 seconds, and the energy finally cracks into strong territory at 412. This is the biggest swell in the whole forecast.

But—and there’s always a but—the wind on both those days is still cross-onshore (SW and SSW at 12–19 mph), so it’s going to be choppy and lumpy. This is a beach setup, exposed to that SW wind, so the conditions will be messy. For a seasoned surfer who doesn’t mind a battle, Thursday morning the 20th could offer some punchy, powerful waves, but it won’t be clean. For beginners, that 6 ft with onshore wind is a no-go. Given the wind and consistent chop, this setup honestly looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

To sum it up: there are no good days for clean, quality surf in the next 16 days. That run from the 5th to the 18th is a long, dry spell with nothing to recommend. The 19th and 20th have the size but lack the wind to make it special. Nor’easters might change this, but right now, it’s a waiting game.

Stay patient, and keep an eye on the forecasts—it tends not to stay poor for long.

Rusty.

Read more