Folly Beach Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. I've gotta be straight with you – the outlook for the next 16 days is a tough one. We're looking at a long stretch of poor surf conditions with very little to get excited about. The only spot in the mix is Folly Beach Pier, and it's not offering much.

The water is sitting at 86°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year, so at least you won't be cold if you decide to paddle out.

Let's run through it. Starting Sunday, August 2nd, it's a mess. We've got a tiny 2ft swell from the SE with a weak period of 6 seconds and a combined energy of only 33 (weak energy). The wind is a cross-shore and there's a risk of thunderstorms, so it's a no-go. The afternoon isn't any better, with a 4ft windswell from the S but a fresh cross-onshore breeze making it lumpy. Monday and Tuesday are flat, with zero energy. We see a little bump on Tuesday afternoon with a 3ft SSE swell, but the energy is still weak at 95 and the wind is cross-onshore. The whole first week is a write-off.

The middle of the week, from Wednesday the 5th through to Saturday the 8th, is a continuous run of small, weak swells (1ft to 3ft) with periods under 8 seconds and combined energy mostly in the 20s to 60s (weak). The wind is almost always onshore or cross-onshore, making for choppy, lumpy, and generally poor surf. There's a brief moment of cleaner conditions on the morning of the 9th with a light cross-offshore breeze from the N, but the swell is still only 2ft from the SE (43 weak energy). It's a fleeting moment.

The second week is more of the same. We see a few mornings with cleaner conditions, like the 10th, 11th, and 12th, with cross-offshore winds, but the swell direction is from the S or SSW with periods of 5-6 seconds and heights of just 2ft to 3ft (combined energy 25-36, weak). The standout moment in the entire 16-day window is probably the morning of Thursday, August 13th. We get a glassy wind from the W, a 3ft swell from the E with a period of 5 seconds, and a combined energy of 40 (weak). It's glassy, but it's still tiny. That's the best we've got.

After that, the pattern continues with small, weak swell and inconsistent conditions all the way through to Monday, August 17th, where the swell drops to just 1.0ft. The whole period is a flat spell.

To be honest, the setup at Folly Beach Pier looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing given the persistent onshore winds and weak, short-period swell. The break is inconsistent and rarely offers anything good, and this forecast is a prime example of that. It's a blank run, and for this area, that's more normal than you'd hope. When it's poor, it tends to stay poor for a while, but forecasts can change.

Rusty.

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