Galveston-61st Street Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let me level with you right off the bat—this is a tough stretch for waves in Galveston. We’re looking at 16 days of pretty flat, blown-out conditions, so don’t get your hopes up for anything decent. The best we can say is there are a few brief windows where the wind cleans up, but even then the swell is just too weak to get excited about.

Right out of the gate, it’s a slow start. We’ve got a 2-foot max swell (0.5m) from the south on Friday the 11th, with a miserable 4-second period and a cross-onshore wind at 9 mph. That’s choppy, weak junk. The combined swell energy is only 11—really low. Water temp is running 87°, which is a staggering 4° warmer than normal for this time of year. That’s super unusual, like bathwater.

The whole first week is a write-off. Saturday through Thursday stays tiny, with the swell rarely pushing past 2 feet, all from the south or SSE, and the period stuck at 5 seconds or less. Winds are mostly onshore or cross-onshore, meaning it’s bumpy and unrideable. The biggest bump comes Thursday the 17th afternoon, with a 3-foot swell from the ESE at 6 seconds—still short-period slop—and the combined energy hitting 77. The wind is cross-onshore at 16 mph, so it’s just messy. Honestly, this setup looks more interesting for kite surfing than paddle surfing.

We finally get a clean-up on Friday morning the 18th. A north wind at 6 mph goes offshore, giving us clean conditions. But the swell is only 2 feet from the SE with a 6-second period—tiny. Combined energy is 30. It’s a small window for a longboard or a foiler, but nothing with any punch.

Saturday the 19th morning also sees a light offshore from the NNW at 6 mph, with a 1-foot swell from the ESE. Combined energy is just 15. Clean but flat. The next decent look is Monday the 21st afternoon: glassy conditions with a light NE breeze, and a 1.0-foot swell from the SE at 8 seconds. That’s a rare moment of glass, but again, barely a ripple.

After that, it’s back to tiny or flat. The last few days of September see the swell drop to zero on Saturday the 26th, with storm risks and cross-onshore winds. There’s no standout session in this whole period. The closest to a highlight might be the clean, offshore morning on Friday the 18th or Saturday morning the 19th, but you’d be scratching for anything rideable.

To be blunt, this is one of those quiet runs for the Texas coast. It happens. Keep the board waxed, but don’t expect much. Check back—forecasts change.

Rusty

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