Galveston - Flagship Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Hey, Rusty here again. Let’s run through the same outlook for the Galveston area, but in feet and Fahrenheit for those who think that way.

The long story short: it’s flat, and it’s staying flat for a long time. There’s a whole lot of days with next to nothing rideable. Water temp is about 88°, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year.

We start on Thursday the 27th. Thursday morning at Galveston - Flagship Pier is about 1ft of SSW swell, period only 4 seconds. Combined energy is weak, just 4. Light offshore wind from the west keeps the surface clean, but there’s no energy to push you around. Thursday afternoon the wind turns south, becomes a fresh cross-onshore, and it gets lumpy. Friday the 28th is still tiny – 1ft waves, cross or onshore wind, poor conditions.

Saturday the 29th and Sunday the 30th see the swell drop to about 0.3ft. Period is a bit longer, 8 to 9 seconds, but with that height it’s unsurfable flatness. Wind is on or cross-onshore, poor conditions.

Monday the 31st through to Thursday the 3rd of September gives a tiny lift – we’re up to 2ft to 2ft on some mornings, but it’s short period windswell from the SSE and SE. The combined energy stays below 25. Winds are mostly onshore or cross-onshore, and the wave comment says poor surf conditions for every single slot. Nothing worth waxing up for.

Friday the 4th and Saturday the 5th of September are still tiny and weak. But Saturday afternoon, the 5th, we finally see a pulse. The swell jumps to 5ft from the ESE, with a period of 5 seconds. The combined energy hits a moderate 117. It’s short period windswell, and the wind is a moderate cross-onshore, so it’s going to be choppy. Still marked as poor surf conditions. This is the most size we get, but with the onshore breeze and short period, it’s messy. This setup could be more interesting for kite surfers than paddle surfers.

Sunday the 6th, the swell backs off to 3ft and then 2ft, combined energy drops to the 40s, and still cross-onshore and choppy.

The rest of the run from Monday the 7th to Friday the 11th is flat or marginal. Morning of the 7th gives us a clean 1ft with a light cross-offshore, but it’s tiny. The 8th has a morning offshore from the NW, giving clean 1ft. Still, not enough wave to ride.

The 9th of September shows 3ft to 3ft from the SE with a period of 6 seconds, combined energy in the 46 to 62 range. Afternoon is onshore, morning is a light cross-shore with some chop. The 10th and 11th are similar – little bumps of 3ft to 3ft, short period, poor conditions.

Best option? There isn't a good one. If you want the most size, Saturday afternoon the 5th has that 5ft, but the onshore wind makes it messy. The cleanest windows are Thursday morning the 27th (1ft, clean) and Tuesday morning the 8th of September (1ft, clean offshore), but the swell is too small. For the whole two weeks, the surf stays poor and small.

Hang tight. Things can change.

Rusty.

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