Daytona Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let’s keep it real. Right now, and for a long stretch ahead, Daytona Beach is in a bit of a flat spell. We’re looking at a solid week or more where the surf is just too weak to get excited about. The first real opportunity doesn’t even show up until the morning of Wednesday the 26th of August, and even then, it’s only just surfable.

The outlook starts with almost nothing from the 18th through the 25th of August. Tiny waves, mostly around 1ft to 1ft, with energy readings that are almost all under 40 – that’s weak, weak stuff. The winds are mixed, with some glassy or clean moments like Thursday the 20th morning when it goes dead calm, but there’s no push in the water to ride. It’s a long wait.

The first flicker of something happens on Wednesday the 26th. The morning shows a 1ft swell from the east with a very long period of 16 seconds and combined energy climbing to 75. The wind is light cross-off from the SSW, keeping the surface clean. It’s barely surfable, but it’s a sign of life. That afternoon, the energy jumps to 152 (moderate) with a 2ft swell from the SE, but the period drops to 9 seconds and the wind goes cross-off again. Not great, but the energy is there.

Thursday the 27th of August is a mixed bag. Morning has 2ft from the east, 13-second period, energy at 117 – that’s moderate energy. The wind is cross-off from the WSW, which is okay, but it’s still ordinary. The afternoon is the best of the bunch up to that point: 2ft from the east, 12-second period, energy at 100, with clean offshore winds from the SW. It’s not a standout, but it’s the closest thing to a session we’ve seen.

The real standout, if you can call it that, comes on Friday the 28th of August. The morning has 2ft from the east with an 11-second period and energy at 85. The wind is just a whisper from the west – cross-off and super light. The afternoon goes glassy with a 2ft east swell, 10-second period, and energy at 54. It’s clean. It’s small. But it’s the most rideable day we’ve got.

After that, it falls apart again. The weekend of the 29th and 30th is messy with onshore winds and tiny, weak waves. The night of the 31st August into the 1st of September offers a brief glassy morning with a long-period 1ft east swell (15 seconds) and energy at 77, but it’s still small and ordinary. By the 2nd of September, the energy spikes to 166 in the morning with a 2ft swell from the ESE, but it’s onshore wind – that’s more of a choppy mess than a surf.

With the water temp at 84°F and a zero anomaly, it’s about normal for this time of year – warm, no surprises.

Daytona Beach (Daytona-Beach) is a sandbar setup, exposed to the east, and it picks up whatever is around. But for this entire 16-day run, the consistent theme is small, weak, and often wind-affected. There are no true standouts for a proper surf. If you’re desperate, the afternoon of the 27th or the morning of the 28th of August offer the cleanest conditions on the tiniest waves. Anything over 5ft? Not here. This is strictly longboard or groveler territory.

Honestly, for the size and the conditions, this setup looks more interesting for a kite than a paddle for most of the period.

Rusty.

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