Coastal Bend Area Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty, and I gotta be straight with you – it’s a tough stretch ahead for the Coastal Bend Area. We’re looking at a long, flat spell that’s going to test your patience.

Straight up, there’s nothing to get excited about for the first week and a half. From Friday the 17th right through to the end of July, the call is "poor surf conditions" every single day. The winds are mostly cross-onshore or onshore, coming from the SSE, and the swell is tiny. We’re looking at weak wave energy, with values barely cracking 100 for most of that time – for example, it’s a measly 77 on the morning of the 17th. The water temp is sitting around 84° with an anomaly of just 0.7°, so it’s about average for this time of year. The swell is coming from the SE, which is the optimum direction for this area, but the size is just nothing. It’s a classic summer flat spell, and honestly, for the beach and jetty setups here, this is just how it goes sometimes. The swell periods are short, around 4 to 6 seconds, so there’s no energy in the water.

There’s a glimmer of hope, but it’s a long way off. On the 31st of July, we finally see a bump in the combined energy, hitting 203. The swell size picks up to 5 ft from the SSE, with a period of 6 seconds. That’s still a short-period windswell, but it’s something. The problem is, the wind is still cross-onshore from the S at 15 mph, making it choppy. It’s still rated as poor surf conditions, so don’t get your hopes up too high for a clean session.

The best of a bad bunch looks like the 1st of August. The swell is the biggest of the whole outlook, hitting 6 ft from the SSE with a period of 7 seconds. The combined energy jumps to 282, which is solid moderate energy. Even though the wind is cross-onshore in the morning, it shifts to onshore in the afternoon. For a beach break, that 6 ft swell with onshore wind is going to be messy and lumpy. It’s not going to be pretty, but it’s the only time all period where there’s enough water moving to maybe get a few grovelly ones. The crowd situation here is "sometimes" busy, so you might have some company, but with conditions like these, I wouldn't expect it to be packed.

So, the honest truth? There’s nothing worth paddling out for until the very end of this forecast. The first 13 days are a total write-off. The 31st of July and the 1st of August offer the only real swell, but the wind is going to trash it. It’s a long wait for a messy, choppy end. Keep your board waxed, maybe check the kite gear, because for the beach setup here, that onshore wind and building swell might be more interesting for the kite crew than us paddle surfers. Hang in there.

Rusty.

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