Daytona Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, Rusty here, lookin' at the charts for the next 16 days. Gotta be straight with you, it's a tough stretch for surfers. We're looking at a long, dry spell with barely a ripple to get excited about, and then a pulse of northeast swell shows up at the very end, but it's gonna be messy.

Let's start with the reality. Daytona Beach is a sandbar setup, and for the first week and a half, it's a ghost town. From Saturday the 5th all the way through to around mid-week the 16th, we're dealing with tiny, weak waves. The energy is low, just a combined 20 or so units of combined energy, and the swell is barely 1.0ft to 2ft. It's not even worth paddling out for. The wind is mostly cross-off or glassy in the mornings, which is a tease, but there's just no swell to work with. The water temp is a bit cooler than normal at 81°, but who cares when there's nothing to ride?

We do get a little bump of energy around the 9th of September, with combined energy hitting 108 but the swell is from the NE and onshore, making it a choppy, bumpy mess. The wave comment says it all: "poor surf conditions." You'd be better off doing something else.

Then we hit a real quiet patch. For a full week, from the 10th to the 17th, it's tiny. On the 10th, the morning goes glassy with a 2ft, NE swell, but it's so weak it's barely surfable. The 13th brings another glassy morning with 2ft, but it's the same story. It's not until the 18th of September, which is a Friday, that we see a real spike in size. The morning shows 4ft from the NE with a combined energy of 216 – that's moderate wave energy – but it's onshore wind and the wave comment says "marginal surf forecast." That's a red flag.

The real swell comes in on the 17th and 18th, with the 3ft to 4ft range, but it's all onshore wind from the NE. The afternoon of the 17th has 3ft and 121 combined energy, but it's a complete mess. The 18th morning has the best raw size, 4ft, but again, onshore wind and a "marginal" tag. For a beginner, 4ft is doable, but with the onshore wind, it's going to be a washing machine. For the experienced crew, it's a frustrating grind.

Honestly, the best bet in this whole 16-day window is the morning of Thursday the 10th of September. It's only 2ft, but it's glassy, and the swell is from the NE. It's not a standout by any means, but it's the only time the conditions are clean. Don't expect much, but you might snag a knee-high ripple.

The rest of the window is a write-off. The swell direction is mostly from the E or NE, which is fine for the exposed beach, but the period is short, between 7 and 9 seconds, so it's weak, windswell. For the last few days, the onshore wind is howling, making it look more like a kite-surfing spot than a surfing one.

So, here's the bottom line: wait for the last week of the forecast, but don't hold your breath. The 18th morning has the most size, but it's a gamble. The rest is a long, flat, or blown-out mess.

Rusty out.

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