Surf Forecasts:
Higgins Beach surf forecast from 17 Aug 2026:
- Best quality surf: Tuesday 18 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 9s period, SE swell with cross-offshore winds.
- Most powerful swell: Wednesday 19 Aug, 2AM (local time) - 4ft (1.2m), 8s period, SE swell with 196 kJ wave energy.
- Next surfable swell (1★+): Tuesday 18 Aug, 11PM (local time) - 3.5ft (1.1m), 9s period with SE swell.
Best Forecast Surf Conditions for Higgins Beach this week:
The surf forecast for Higgins Beach over the next 16 days: The first swell (rated 1 star or higher) is forecast to arrive on Tuesday (Aug 18) at 11PM. The primary swell is predicted to be 1.1m and 9s period. The wind is predicted to be cross-offshore as the swell arrives.
The most powerful waves expected at Higgins Beach in the next 16 days are 1.2m 8s and forecast to arrive on Wednesday (Aug 19) at 2AM. Winds are predicted to be glassy at the time the swell arrives. The largest open ocean swell (not directed at the beach) is 0.2m 2s period and expected on Thursday (Aug 20) at 5AM.
| Wave Type | Time (EDT) & Date | Wave Height & Period |
|---|---|---|
| Next good surf (1 star+) | 11PM (Tue 18th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 9s |
| Best Surf | 11PM (Tue 18th Aug) | 3.5ft (1.1m) 9s |
| Most Powerful | 2AM (Wed 19th Aug) | 4ft (1.2m) 8s |
Table - best surf conditions forecast for Higgins Beach over the next 16 days.
The Lowdown
Alright folks, Rusty here. Let's have a look at what's on the cards for Higgins Beach over the next couple of weeks. Straight up, it's a tough outlook, so I'll keep it real.
To be brutally honest with you, the next week and a half looks pretty grim. We’ve got a long stretch of small, weak, choppy surf with winds that just won't play nice. From now through most of the 24th of August, we're looking at barely rideable conditions. The swell heights are well under 3 feet, with short, weak periods under 8 seconds, and the wind is almost always on it or cross-onshore, making for messy, bumpy waves. The combined energy is mostly in the low double-digits to very low triple-digits (29 to 116), which is just weak, gutless stuff. Honestly, it’s not worth paddling out for unless you’re just desperate for a float.
There is a break in the clouds, though. The best window and the only true standout here is Tuesday, the 25th of August. Tuesday morning sees a clean, offshore wind from the NW at a light 6 mph, with the swell jumping to 5 feet from the SSE. The period is short at 5 seconds, but the wind is clean, so you’ll get some fun, punchy little walls. The real magic, though, is Tuesday afternoon. The wind drops to absolute glass—0 mph—and the swell bumps up to 8 feet from the SSE with a slightly better 7-second period. The combined energy jumps to 487, which is a proper injection of power. Now, 8 feet is getting big here, so this is strictly for the experienced crew. If you’re an expert and you can get out on Tuesday afternoon, you’ll be scoring some of the best waves of the month. The water temperature is a comfortable 66°, which is about average for this time of year.
After that high point, the window closes fast. Wednesday the 26th drops back to messy cross-on conditions, and while there is some serious long-period energy lurking later in the month (like a 14-second swell with 1804 units of energy on the 28th), it’s all accompanied by strong cross-onshore winds and a lumpy sea state. For a beach break like Higgins, those long-period, high-energy swells tend to close out and get ugly with onshore wind.
So, the long and short of it? The first 8 days are a write-off. The 25th of August is your one true standout—especially the glassy afternoon session for experts. After that, it’s back to waiting for the next one. Don’t hold your breath.
- Rusty
Short Range ForecastModerate rain (total 12mm), heaviest on Mon morning. Warm (max 22°C on Wed morning, min 18°C on Mon morning). Wind will be generally light. | Days 4-6 Weather SummaryLight rain (total 2mm), mostly falling on Thu morning. Warm (max 21°C on Fri afternoon, min 17°C on Thu morning). Wind will be generally light. | ||||||||||||||||||||
Monday 17 | Tuesday 18 | Wednesday 19 | Thursday 20 | Friday 21 | Saturday 22 | Sunday 23 | |||||||||||||||
AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | AM | PM | Night | |
Swell Height Map |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | ||||||||||||||
Wave Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 6 | S 6 | SSE 5 | SSE 5 | SE 6 | SE 8 | SE 7 | ESE 7 | SE 6 | SE 7 | SE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | SE 7 | SE 7 |
Wave Graph  | |||||||||||||||||||||
 kJ | 116 | 110 | 28 | 15 | 23 | 196 | 91 | 42 | 49 | 51 | 53 | 25 | 43 | 43 | 31 | 28 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 14 | 14 |
Wind (km/h) | |||||||||||||||||||||
Wind State on-shore cross-onshore cross-shore cross-offshore off-shore glassy | cross-on | cross-on | glassy | cross | cross | glassy | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off | cross | cross-on | off | cross-on | on | cross-off | cross-on | cross-on | cross | cross-on | cross-on | cross-off |
High Tide | 3:18PM2.94m | 3:45AM2.72m | 4:05PM2.84m | 4:38AM2.55m | 4:55PM2.73m | 5:34AM2.39m | 5:49PM2.65m | 6:34AM2.29m | 6:46PM2.59m | 7:36AM2.24m | 7:45PM2.59m | 8:34AM2.26m | 8:41PM2.64m | ||||||||
Low Tide | 9:02AM0.05m | 9:33PM0.09m | 9:48AM0.23m | 10:26PM0.21m | 10:37AM0.40m | 11:22PM0.32m | 11:30AM0.54m | 00:22AM0.40m | 12:27PM0.64m | 1:23AM0.44m | 1:27PM0.67m | 2:22AM0.42m | 2:24PM0.64m | 3:15AM0.36m | |||||||
 | |  | |  |  |  |  | |  | |  | | |  | | | | | |  | |
 | 5:47 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:48 | — | — | 5:50 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:52 | — | — | 5:54 | — | — |
 | — | 7:42 | — | — | 7:39 | — | — | 7:38 | — | — | 7:37 | — | — | 7:35 | — | — | 7:34 | — | — | 7:31 | — |
mm | 4 | 5 | 2 | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | — | 1 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 1 | 5 |
Temp °C | 19 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 20 | 22 | 22 | 22 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 20 | 21 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 20 |
Feels °C | 18 | 18 | 20 | 19 | 21 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 25 | 19 | 18 | 19 | 21 | 20 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 20 | 21 | 21 | 21 |
Swell 1 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | SE 10 | SSE 5 | SSE 5 | SE 6 | SE 8 | SE 7 | ESE 7 | SE 6 | SE 7 | SE 7 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | ESE 8 | SE 8 | SE 8 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | ESE 7 | SE 7 | SSE 4 |
| kJ | — | 4 | 28 | 15 | 23 | 196 | 91 | 41 | 49 | 51 | 53 | 25 | 43 | 43 | 31 | 28 | 21 | 21 | 19 | 11 | 3 |
Swell 2 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | SE 9 | SE 9 | SE 8 | — | SE 9 | SSE 9 | SE 8 | — | — | SE 6 | SE 15 | SE 14 | SE 14 | SE 13 | SE 13 | ESE 13 | ESE 12 | ESE 12 | SE 7 |
| kJ | — | — | 12 | 12 | 18 | — | 13 | 8 | 25 | — | — | 19 | 8 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 7 | 16 | 15 | 14 | 11 |
Swell 3 Height (m) Direction Period (s) | — | — | — | S 13 | S 12 | — | SE 9 | SE 9 | SSE 7 | — | E 10 | E 15 | S 15 | S 15 | S 14 | SE 13 | S 7 | SE 9 | S 13 | SE 8 | ESE 12 |
| kJ | — | — | — | 3 | 3 | — | 21 | 13 | 9 | — | 2 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 14 |
Wind waves Height (m) Direction Period (s) | S 6 | S 6 | — | — | NE 3 | — | — | SSE 7 | — | — | E 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | SSE 3 | WNW 2 |
| kJ | 116 | 110 | — | — | 1 | — | — | 42 | — | — | 3 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 3 | 1 |
Nearest Offshore or Glassy | |||||||||||||||||||||
Distance (km) | 409 | 330 | 237 | 245 | 245 | 42 | 92 | 162 | 42 | 182 | 848 | 42 | 42 | 494 | 42 | 721 | 541 | 42 | 92 | 473 | 92 |
Best forecast wave conditions in Maine | |||||||||||||||||||||
Best forecast wave conditions in United States | |||||||||||||||||||||
Header Global | |||||||||||||||||||||
- Map Icons:
Break
Live Wave Height (m)
Live Wind Speed (km/h)
Surf Rating (10 Max)
Ocean Swells (m)- Wind Speed (km/h)
FREE! Surf-Forecast.com widget for your website
The surf report / weather widget below is available to embed on third party websites free of charge and provides a summary of our Higgins Beach surf forecast. Simply grab the html code snippet that we provide and paste it into your own site. You can choose your preferred language and metric/imperial units for the surf forecast feed to suit users of your site. Click here to get the code.
Information about the Higgins Beach Surf forecast
The above surf forecast table for Higgins Beach provides essential information for determining whether the surfing conditions will be good over the next 16 days. A general guide to surfing at Higgins Beach can be found by selecting the local surf guide option on the grey menu. Our Higgins Beach surf forecast is unique since it includes wave energy (power) that defines the real feel of the surf rather than just the height or the period. If you surf the same spot (Higgins Beach) regularly then make a mental note of the wave energy from the surf forecast table each time you go. Very soon you may start to choose your surf days based on the wave energy alone combined with our forecast of favourable offshore wind conditions. Our star ratings will help here and of course you will also find the usual wave height and period predictions on our surf forecasts as well as a full break down of the swell components under our advanced users option (to reveal that, click the little Einstein character under the tide times).
Further information to help with frequently asked questions about our surf forecast for Higgins Beach may be found under the help tab on the top menu and also by moving your mouse over the question marks on the surf forecast table itself. Please always bear in mind that the forecast is for near-shore open water and local factors at each surf break influence the actual breaking wave height, such as the beach / reef profile, water depths offshore and shelter.
Higgins Beach is 9 km (6 miles) from South Portland Gardens. If you plan a vacation in Maine, look for hotels and other accommodation in South Portland Gardens. South Portland Gardens has rooms for a wide range of budgets as well as car hire and transport links.
Nearest