Folly Beach Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, mate, Rusty here. Let’s have a look at what’s cookin' for Folly Beach over the next couple of weeks.

Honestly, straight up, it’s gonna be a pretty quiet stretch. The surf's gonna be small and the wind's gonna be a constant pain in the arse for most of it. There’s no standout, firing day in the whole 16-day window, so we’re just looking for the least ugly options.

The pattern for the next week and a half is all small, short-period windswell – think 1 to 3 feet, with periods mostly between 4 and 8 seconds. That’s not gonna have any punch. The wind is stubbornly from the SSE to SSW, which is cross-on or onshore, churning the water up. The water temp is about average for this time of year, so nothing unusual there.

The first few days are a write-off. Wednesday the 5th through Friday the 7th are all small, choppy, and cross-on. You’ll be fighting the wind more than the wave. The combined energy is weak, so don't expect any power.

We finally get a couple of clean windows, but they’re tiny. On Tuesday the 11th, the morning gets a clean, cross-off breeze from the WSW, but the swell is a pathetic 0.7 feet from the ESE. That’s a lake. The following Wednesday morning, the 12th, is similar – clean with a WSW wind again, but the swell is just 3 feet from the SW at 5 seconds. It’s clean, but weak and gutless. The 13th morning is also clean, with 3 feet from the SSW.

The best chance in the whole run looks like Sunday the 16th. The afternoon has a solid clean look to it, with a gentle cross-off breeze from the NNE and a 3-foot, 6-second swell from the S. The energy is the highest we’ll see. It’s still not a big day, but it’ll be the cleanest, most rideable surf of the whole period. The earlier part of the day has a clean offshore from the WNW, but with only 2 feet. That’s your best bet for a session where you’re not hating the wind.

Monday the 17th afternoon sees the energy jump up on a 3-foot, 8-second SE swell, but the wind is a light onshore from the ENE. It’s the biggest wave energy of the run, but the quality will be average at best. After that, the smaller stuff and cross-shore junk returns.

So, look. If you’re desperate, target the clean windows on the 11th, 12th, or 13th mornings for a fun paddle, but don’t expect much. The standout is Sunday the 16th – the afternoon has the cleanest conditions and the best wave energy. For a beginner, nothing here gets over 5 feet, so it’s all safe. For experts, there’s nothing to get excited about at all. Crowds are always possible at Folly Beach, so expect company on any clean day.

Rusty.

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