Galveston Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let’s be straight with you – this is a tough one for the Galveston area. The whole 16-day stretch is looking pretty bleak for any decent surf. We’ve got a run of flat, weak conditions that’s basically a bust for paddle surfing.

The problem is tiny, short-period windswell. From now through the whole period, the swell height barely touches 3 ft, with periods hanging around 4 to 7 seconds. That’s just not enough to form anything rideable. The combined energy is weak, rarely cracking three digits, sitting mostly in the 10 to 44 range – that’s barely a ripple. For a stretch of 16 days, there’s no standout window, no day to circle on the calendar. It’s a long, empty gap.

The water temperature is running at 87°F with a 2°F anomaly, so it’s a touch warmer than usual for this time of year at Galveston.

Friday afternoon, August 7th, kicks it off with a tiny 1 ft SE swell and a cross-on wind. Not worth paddling out. Saturday morning, August 8th, sees a brief moment of glassy conditions with that same 1 ft swell, but it’s still too weak to do anything with. The wind might be clean, but there's no power behind it.

The rest of the first week through the second week is a write-off: onshore winds, cross-on breezes, and that same weak, choppy slop. The combined energy does climb a bit around August 14th and 16th, hitting 44 and 37, but that’s still weak for the area, and the swell is too short-period to be any good.

Even the final few days, like the morning of August 22nd with a light cross-offshore wind, it’s attached to a pathetic 1 ft SSW swell. It’ll be clean, but flat. This setup is more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing, given the consistent onshore wind and the lack of any real swell.

So, the honest truth: there’s nothing to get excited about here. The forecast can change, but right now, it’s a total blank run. Don’t hold your breath.

Rusty.

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