Flagler Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's take a good, hard look at what Flagler Pier has in store for us over the next couple of weeks. Gotta be straight with you – this isn't one of those epic spells. We're looking at a pretty bleak run of tiny, weak surf for the vast majority of the forecast. The first real glimmer of anything interesting doesn't show up until the second week, so patience is the name of the game.

The whole outlook starts with a long, drawn-out lull. From Tuesday the 7th right through to the end of the first week, the waves are just not cooperating. You'll see tiny 1ft to 2ft swells mostly out of the ESE, but the real killer is the lack of energy. We're talking combined swell energy figures in the teens, twenties and thirties – that's weak stuff. It's all short-period, wind-slop junk with periods mostly under 9 seconds. There are some mornings with a light offshore or even glassy conditions, which would be perfect if there was any actual swell to surf. But there isn't. A few afternoons get a bit of sea breeze chop, and that just turns it into a complete mess. Honestly, for anyone with a kite, some of these afternoons might look more fun than trying to paddle out on these ankle-biters.

The water temp is around 85°F which is bang on average for this time of year, so at least you won't freeze while you're sitting there waiting for a wave that isn't coming.

We finally see a pulse of energy arrive around Saturday the 18th. It's not huge, but it's the biggest we'll see. The Saturday afternoon session shows a 3ft swell from the SE with an 8-second period. The combined energy finally pushes up into the triple digits at 122 – that's moderate energy. It's not going to win any awards, but after a week and a half of nothing, it's the standout. The wind is cross-off from the S at 12 mph, which should keep the surface reasonably clean at Flagler Pier. The swell direction is from the southeast, which is close to the optimum NE direction for this spot, so it'll wrap in okay.

This Saturday afternoon is the best on offer. The rest of the week after that is more of the same small stuff, 1ft to 2ft, with ordinary conditions. The morning of Sunday the 19th has a light offshore from the SW, but the swell is tiny at 1ft. It's a case of poor surf conditions marked right up until the final day, the 22nd of July, when it's just more cross-shore chop on a 3ft ESE swell.

So, a long, dry spell with one brief moment of fun on the afternoon of Saturday the 18th. Keep an eye on that one, but don't get your hopes up for the rest of it.

- Rusty

Read more