Folly Beach Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, this is Rusty. Let's be straight with you – the next 16 days at Folly Beach look pretty grim for a decent paddle. We've got a long stretch of tiny, weak swell and tricky winds, so don't get your hopes up too high. I'm looking at the whole picture, and it's a lot of waiting for something that never really shows up.

We start off on Tuesday, 14 July, with a little 1 ft, 9-second swell from the SE, but it's a risk t-storm day with a light onshore breeze, so the energy is really weak at just 15. It's a poor surf call. That sets the tone for the first week. Wednesday and Thursday are even smaller, with ankle-snappers around 0.7 ft to 1 ft and cross or cross-onshore winds. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so no surprises there.

We get a bit of a bump on Sunday, 19 July, with a 2 ft S swell in the morning, and the wind is a light cross-offshore from the WSW, making it clean. The combined energy is still only 30, so it's weak, but it's the cleanest looking window in the whole run. That afternoon, the wind swings back onshore and gets choppy as the swell builds to 4 ft, but the quality is gone.

There's a real dead spot on Monday, 20 July, with no swell at all in the morning. The next day, Tuesday, 21 July, the morning goes glassy with a 3 ft SSW swell, but the energy is only 37. It's a tiny bit of clean surf, but that's about it for the whole week.

The real standout, if you could call it that, is Friday, 24 July. There's a 4 ft SSW swell in the morning. That's the biggest we see, and the combined energy is 115, which is now moderate. But the wind is a moderate cross-shore from the SW, so it's lumpy and messy. This is a beach break, and with that short 6-second period, it's going to be a close-out mess. It's really only going to be interesting for the kite surfers, not for a paddle session. The afternoon gets worse with a fresh cross-onshore.

After that, the swell drops back to 3 ft and 3 ft for the rest of the run, but the wind stays onshore or cross-shore, keeping it choppy. The forecast is consistent through the second week, but consistently poor. There's nothing here that shouts "go now."

So, to be honest, the best you'll find is a window of clean, small surf on the morning of Sunday, 19 July, or the glassy morning on Tuesday, 21 July. The biggest swell on 24 July is too messy for a good time. We're looking at a lot of flat spells and poor conditions, so it's a good time to check the forecasts again in a few days.

Rusty.

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