Coastal Bend Area Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what the next couple of weeks are throwing at us for the Coastal Bend Area.

Honestly, I’m looking at this 16-day window and it’s a tough one. We’ve got a real quiet spell on the cards. The first proper surf I can see is a tiny, weak pulse arriving on Friday the 7th of August, but it’s just not worth getting wet for. The wind is onshore from the ESE at 12 mph, and the swell is a pathetic 2ft from the SE with a short, weak period of 5 seconds. The combined energy is just 21 (weak energy). It’s a no-go.

We roll into Saturday the 8th, and the morning goes glassy with a light ENE breeze at 3 mph, which is beautiful to look at, but the swell has dropped to 2ft. The energy is only 15 (weak energy). There’s just nothing to push you down the line. This pattern of tiny swell and often onshore or cross-onshore winds pretty much sticks around until the middle of the following week.

The water temperature is sitting at 84°F for the first couple of days, which is about 0.9°F warmer than normal for this time of year – nothing out of the ordinary, just that classic warm bath feeling.

The real problem here is the swell direction. The break is exposed to the SE, and the optimum swell direction is from the SE, so the angle is right. But the size is just too small. For days on end, we’re looking at 2ft to 3ft waves with periods of just 5 or 6 seconds. The combined energy doesn’t crack the 100 mark until the 13th of August, hitting 146 (moderate wave energy) for the Thursday morning, but that’s paired with a fresh cross-onshore wind from the S at 19 mph, making it lumpy and messy. The wave comment says "poor surf conditions" across the board, and with scores of 0, I can’t argue with that.

There is a bit of a lift in the second week. By the 16th of August, we see the swell sticking around 3ft to 4ft, and the period finally stretches to 7 seconds. The combined energy creeps up to the 80s and 90s by the 19th, but it’s still a short-period, wind-affected mess. The wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore from the SSE or SE, blowing at 12 to 19 mph. This is not a setup for clean, lined-up waves. For a beach and jetty setup like this, with the wind blowing on it, it’s honestly looking more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

There are no standouts here. The entire 16-day stretch is a write-off for quality surf. The consistency is poor, the conditions are poor, and the swell is weak. It’s a blank run, but for this area, that’s pretty normal when the summer winds set in. Forecasts can change, so keep your eyes peeled, but right now, I’d leave the boards in the van.

Rusty.

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