Surf Forecasts:
81st Street surf forecast from 27 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Friday 28 Aug, 11AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 8s period, ESE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 2 Sep, 11AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 11s period, ESE swell with 47 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Friday 28 Aug, 11AM (local time) - 1.5ft (0.4m), 8s period with ESE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for 81st Street this week:
The surf forecast for 81st Street over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Friday (Aug 28) at 11AM. The primary swell is predicted to be 0.4m and 8s period with a secondary swell of 0.5m and 5s. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at 81st Street in the next 16 days are 0.4m 11s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Sep 02) at 11AM. Winds are predicted to be cross-offshore at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.7m 5s period and expected on Friday (Aug 28) at 11AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11AM (Fri 28th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 8s |
| Best Surf | 11AM (Fri 28th Aug) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 8s |
| Most Powerful | 11AM (Wed 2nd Sep) | 1.5ft (0.4m) 11s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for 81st Street over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright, Rusty here, and I’ve gotta be straight with you – it’s looking pretty bleak out there for the next couple of weeks. We’ve got a long stretch of small, weak, and mostly messy surf ahead, with only a couple of brief moments where it might be worth paddling out.
We’re starting with a big gap of nothing. The first hint of any surf that’s even remotely surfable doesn’t show up until Friday morning, 28th August. That’s a few days of flat or junk to get through first.
The only spot on the menu is 81st Street. It’s a beginner break, but it’s inconsistent, so you can’t bank on it. The water temp is sitting at 79°, which is about average for this time of year – no surprises there.
Friday morning, 28th August, is our first real chance. We’ve got a tiny 1ft swell from the ESE, but the wind is light and cross-offshore, making it clean. The wave energy is weak (41), so it’s not going to be powerful, but at least it’s not a washing machine. The swell period is short at 8 seconds, so it’ll be a bit soft. It’s surfable, but very ordinary.
There’s another glimmer on Wednesday morning, 2nd September. The swell is still small at 1ft from the ESE, but look at that period – 11 seconds! That’s a bit of groundswell, giving it some shape and push. The wave energy is still weak (54), but the wind is light from the NW, cross-off, and it’s clean. This is probably the best we’re going to see, but it’s still tiny.
Then we hit a wall again. From the 3rd of September, it’s back to poor conditions and tiny waves. There’s a brief spike on Sunday, 6th September, where the swell jumps to 4ft – 5ft from the NE, and the wave energy gets into the moderate range (125 to 148). But it’s onshore wind, blowing at 15-22 mph, and the period is a short 6 seconds. That’s choppy, bumpy, and ugly. Not worth it for a paddle surf – that setup looks more interesting for kite surfing.
After that, it’s back to tiny, onshore slop for the rest of the run. The wind is consistently on or cross-on, and the swell is small and weak. The last week is just more of the same: small, weak, and generally poor.
So, if you’re desperate for a paddle, Friday morning 28th August or Wednesday morning 2nd September are your only real calls. Both are tiny, but clean. For everything else, you’re better off waiting for a change in the forecast.
Rusty.
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 17mm), heaviest on Fri afternoon. Warm (max 28°C on Thu night, min 24°C on Thu night). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Tue afternoon. Warm (max 33°C on Mon afternoon, min 24°C on Sun morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Thursday 27 | Friday 28 | Saturday 29 | Sunday 30 | Monday 31 | Tuesday 1 | Wednesday 2 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 8 | E 9 | ESE 9 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | ESE 12 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | ESE 10 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 24 | 40 | 26 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 31 | 24 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 32 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 14 | 47 | 39 | 36 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | glassy | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-off | off | cross | on | on | on | cross-on | cross-off | off | cross | cross-off | cross-off | cross-on | cross-off | cross-off | cross | cross-off |
High Tide | 8:32AM0.93m | 8:46PM1.02m | 9:10AM0.98m | 9:23PM1.02m | 9:47AM1.02m | 10:01PM1.01m | 10:26AM1.05m | 10:40PM0.98m | 11:06AM1.07m | 11:22PM0.94m | 11:50AM1.08m | 00:08AM0.89m | 12:39PM1.06m | 1:00AM0.84m | |||||||
Low Tide | 2:14PM0.14m | 2:43AM0.10m | 2:56PM0.12m | 3:17AM0.08m | 3:38PM0.11m | 3:51AM0.06m | 4:21PM0.11m | 4:27AM0.06m | 5:06PM0.12m | 5:06AM0.07m | 5:55PM0.15m | 5:50AM0.09m | 6:51PM0.18m | ||||||||
 | |  |  |  |  |  | | |  | |  | | |  | |  | | | | | |
 | 6:30 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:31 | — | — | 6:33 | — | — | 6:33 | — | — | 6:35 | — | — |
 | — | 7:39 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:35 | — | — | 7:34 | — | — | 7:32 | — | — | 7:30 | — |
mm | — | — | 1 | 1 | 7 | 6 | — | — | 2 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | — | — | — |
Temp °C | 26 | 27 | 28 | 25 | 27 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 29 | 33 | 31 | 29 | 33 | 31 | 31 | 33 | 31 |
Feels °C | 29 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 30 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 29 | 29 | 26 | 31 | 35 | 31 | 30 | 33 | 32 | 34 | 35 | 30 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | ESE 8 | E 9 | ESE 9 | SSE 5 | ESE 8 | SSE 4 | SE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | SE 7 | E 9 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 | ESE 11 | ESE 10 | SSE 4 |
| kJ | 24 | 40 | 26 | 15 | 23 | 5 | 31 | 24 | 12 | 13 | 17 | 16 | 14 | 1 | 12 | 12 | 12 | 7 | 47 | 39 | 15 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | SE 4 | E 12 | E 12 | ESE 8 | E 11 | ESE 8 | E 10 | E 10 | SE 5 | NE 4 | NE 4 | NE 4 | NE 4 | — | E 8 | S 4 | S 4 | ESE 12 | SE 7 | — | ESE 10 |
| kJ | 2 | 3 | 3 | 24 | 2 | 22 | 2 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | — | 1 | 3 | 1 | 14 | 7 | — | 36 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | E 13 | E 8 | E 8 | E 11 | E 8 | E 10 | WSW 3 | E 10 | NE 5 | SSE 4 | E 9 | E 9 | E 9 | — | — | E 8 | SE 9 | ESE 9 | — | — | NE 5 |
| kJ | 3 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 8 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | — | — | 1 | 3 | 8 | — | — | 1 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SE 5 | SSE 4 | S 5 | SSE 5 | SW 3 | — | — | — | — | — | SSE 2 | SSW 3 | SE 7 | S 4 | WNW 3 | — | SSW 3 | — | SSE 2 | SW 3 |
| kJ | — | 6 | 13 | 29 | 10 | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 1 | 32 | 16 | 1 | — | 3 | — | 1 | 4 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 4 | 1140 | 4 | 0 | 91 | 91 | 14 | 1224 | 152 | 255 | 2021 | 152 | 1360 | 1144 | 1144 | 1144 | 1152 | 91 | 0 | 474 | 2 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Virginia | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our 81st Street surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the 81st Street Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for 81st Street provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at 81st Street can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our 81st Street surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (81st Street) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for 81st Street may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
81st Street is 4 km (2 miles) from the city of Pylos. If you plan a vacation in Virginia, look for hotels and other accommodation in Pylos. Pylos has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest