Galveston-61st Street Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright, let’s get into it. I’m lookin’ at the next couple weeks here, and honestly, my heart sinks a little. We’ve got a long, drawn-out stretch of barely-there surf mixed with choppy onshore slop. It’s gonna be a test of patience.

Right off the bat, from today (Tuesday afternoon) through the rest of this week and into the start of next week, it’s mostly a write-off. We’re talkin’ tiny ankle-snappers to knee-high mush, with the wind mostly onshore from the SSE, S, and SE, keepin’ things messy. The combined swell energy is weak, barely crackin’ double digits (4 to 39). The water temp is sittin’ at 87°F, which is a touch warmer than normal for this time of year down at Galveston-61st Street Pier, but you won’t be in the water long enough to appreciate it.

Saturday the 14th of July morning is the first little flicker of hope. A light NNW wind at 3 mph goes offshore, cleanin’ up that tiny 2ft swell from the south. Combined energy is still weak at 44, but for a moment there, it’ll be glassy. It’s surfable, but very ordinary. Hardly a standout.

Then we get another gap of nothing much until Saturday the 18th of July morning. That’s when things get a bit more interesting. We’ve got a 2ft swell from the SE, but the period jumps to 10 seconds – that’s a better quality groundswell. The wind is light offshore from the west at 6 mph, so it’ll be clean. The combined energy is still moderate at 76. It’s not big, but for that morning, it’ll be the cleanest, most rideable wave in the whole outlook. A true standout for the patient.

Later that same day, the wind swings onshore and the swell drops off again. The following morning, Sunday the 19th of July, has another shot of clean morning surf with a cross-offshore wind from the west, but the swell is smaller and the energy is weaker.

Then we jump to Tuesday the 21st of July morning. The swell finally bumps up to 5ft from the SSE, period at 7 seconds, and the combined energy hits a moderate 176. However, the wind is a messy cross-shore from the SW at 16 mph, creating a chop. That size, with that wind, is gonna be a bumpy, ropy mess – not great for a paddle surfer. With the beach/pier setup, that combo looks more interesting for a kite surfer than someone on a longboard.

Honestly, if you’re really itchin’ for a wave, the only true standouts in this whole 16-day window are the Saturday the 18th and Sunday the 19th mornings for a clean, small glassy session. The rest is mostly waitin’ for the next system.

Rusty.

Read more