Flagler Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s coming up for Flagler Pier over the next couple of weeks. I gotta be straight with you – it’s a pretty bleak run for most of it. There are long gaps of nothing worth paddling out for, but there is one little window that might get the heart beating.

We kick things off looking at Thursday the 3rd of September, and honestly, the surf is a mess. Tiny swell at 3 ft out of the east with a short period of 9 seconds, but the wind is a cross-onshore breeze at 9 mph making it choppy. The water temp is sitting about average for this time of year, but you wouldn't care about that because the waves are just poor. This theme sticks around hard. From Thursday right through until almost the middle of the month, we have a string of days with wave heights barely cracking 3 ft and all with poor surf conditions. The wind is a constant problem, mostly cross or onshore. It’s not looking good for a paddle.

We see a little bump in energy around Tuesday the 8th of September with a combined wave energy of 122 (moderate), but the swell is only 4 ft from the northeast, and the wind is straight onshore at 9 mph. That’s going to be a bumpy, closed-out mess. Not worth the drive. Things stay similar through the following week – a few more pulses of energy on the 9th and 10th, with the 10th showing 255 combined energy (moderate), but again, the wind direction is just no good for clean waves.

There is a long, dead gap here. For a solid week after that, the models show nothing but small, weak swell and constant onshore or cross-onshore breezes. You’re looking at waist-high slop at best. It’s a tough stretch.

Finally, we get to Tuesday the 15th of September. This is our one standout. It's not perfect, but it's the best of a bad bunch. The morning looks promising: the wind drops right out to glassy conditions, a light air from the NNE. We’ve got a 3 ft swell from the east-northeast with an 8-second period, and the combined energy is 121 (moderate). The report calls it “surfable waves but very ordinary conditions”, but for this forecast window, that’s gold. That glassy morning window will be clean, and the pier can handle that east-northeast direction alright. It’s a small wave, but it might offer up a few fun crumbly lines for the log or a fish. Remember, Flagler Pier can get crowded, so if you see that glass, go get it. But for the rest of the 16 days, honestly, you might be better off taking the board off the roof.

By Wednesday the 16th, the wind swings back around and the window closes. The following Thursday and Friday look like more of the same: small, messy, and wind-affected. That Tuesday morning is the only real chance you get.

Rusty.

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