Galveston-61st Street Pier Surf Forecast and Surf Report

Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's be straight with you: the next couple of weeks are looking pretty flat and sad for Galveston. We've got a long stretch of tiny, weak surf and tricky winds, so don't get your hopes up for any heroics. I'm seeing a whole pile of "poor surf conditions" and scores that got me reaching for a cold one just to cope. The water is sitting at a warm 87°, which is a touch warmer than usual for this time of year, so at least it'll be a nice swim, not much of a surf, though.

The first week is a real bummer. From Tuesday the 11th right through to the following Monday the 17th, we're looking at waist-to-chest high slop at best, with the swell barely cracking 3ft. The energy is all weak, reading between 12 and 56, and the period is short, mostly 4 to 6 seconds. It's all wind-slop pushing up from the south and southeast, with onshore and cross-onshore winds messing with any chance of a clean face. Even with the tide and sand, there's just nothing to work with. We'll see a tiny bit of cleanup on Sunday the 16th morning with a light cross-offshore, but the swell is only 2ft, so it's not going to be worth paddling out for more than a wade.

The second week isn't exactly a redemption arc. From the 18th, the swell just drops off a cliff. We're down to ankle-to-knee high dribble, with the energy numbers going from 17 down to 2. It's a proper flat spell, the kind that makes you wonder why you bother checking the cams. There is a little moment on the 23rd with glassy conditions in the morning, but the swell is a pathetic 0.3ft and the energy is only 7. The 24th also starts off glassy with a slightly better 1ft, but again, that's a just-barely-catchable wave for a beginner, not a real surf. As we head into the 25th and beyond, the wind swings around to the northeast and picks up, giving us clean but tiny conditions with a cross-offshore breeze. The swell on the 25th has a period of 3 seconds, which is just horrible.

What can I say? It's a blank run, plain and simple. This happens around here. The Gulf just shuts down sometimes. The only real positive is that Sunday the 23rd and Monday the 24th have true glassy morning conditions, but with that little swell, it’s more of a longboard and a dream scenario than a solid surf. The period is so short, less than 8 seconds, that even if there were a pulse, the waves would be weak and crumbly. For such small surf, even 2ft and 1ft can be fun if you've got the right board and no one else out, but you'll be walking on water. Save the energy for something else, or just enjoy the ocean air. This is going to be a long, flat fortnight.

Rusty, signing off.

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